Multinational enterprises from emerging economies: what theories suggest, what evidence shows. A literature review

29 - 04 - 2015 in Featured Publications, Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Emerging Countries, FDI, MNEs

Economia e Politica Industriale 42:3, 343-370

The article is co-authored with Alessia Amighini, Claudio Cozza, Elisa Giuliani and Vittoria Scalera

The phenomenon of Emerging Economy Multinational Enterprises (EMNEs) and their internationalization process have sparked the debate over the appropriateness of International Business theories to study EMNEs’ internationalization processes. The literature has extensively investigated what distinguishes EMNEs from Advanced Country Multinational Enterprises (AMNEs). This review summarizes and discusses some of the issues that have mostly attracted scholarly debate in this research area.

Interview with Business People

14 - 03 - 2015 in Articles, Media Tags: Emerging Countries, FDI, Italy, Multinationals

I was interviewed by the Italian magazine Business People about the impact of the investments from Emerging Countries Multinationals on the Italian economic system.

The Location Strategies of Multinationals from Emerging Countries in the EU Regions

7 - 03 - 2015 in Featured Publications, Publications, Working Papers Tags: China, Emerging Countries, Europe, FDI, India, MNEs

UNU-MERIT Working Papers #2015-009

with Riccardo Crescenzi and Carlo Pietrobelli

This paper looks at the location choices of MNEs in the European Union (EU-25) regions and unveils that EMNEs follow distinctive location strategies. Their attraction into large regional markets is similar to AMNEs as well as their irresponsiveness to efficiency seeking motives. Conversely, the most knowledge-intensive investments respond mainly to strategic assets and the agglomeration of foreign investments in the same business functions.

Proximity and Scientific Collaboration: Evidence from the Global Wine Industry

1 - 03 - 2015 in Featured Publications, Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Catch up, Emerging Countries, Wine industry

Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie 106, 2: 205-219.

The article is co-authored with Lorenzo Cassi and Andrea Morrison.

Scientometric studies provide a good way of understanding why and how international research collaboration occurs. Our study investigates patterns of international scientific collaboration in wine related research. We test a gravity model that accounts for geographical, cultural, commercial, technological, structural and institutional differences among a group of Old World (OW) and New World (NW) producers and consumers. Our findings confirm the problems imposed by geographical and technological distance on international research collaboration.

Chinese and Indian Multinationals: A Firm-Level Analysis of their Investments in Europe

20 - 12 - 2014 in Featured Publications, Working Papers Tags: China, Emerging Countries, FDI, India

Papers in Innovation Studies #27 CIRCLE – Lund University

with Vito Amendolagine and Claudio Cozza

In this paper we undertake an empirical analysis of Chinese and Indian FDIs in Europe to investigate their identity and characteristics and the association between these features and their international business strategies. We exploit a dataset at the level of the investing firms. In relation to mode of entry, we find that the greenfield is a more likely option for large-sized companies, and that weak propensity for innovation is associated with a low probability to enter through a merger or acquisition. A high propensity for innovation is related to asset-seeking FDI, while high profitability is needed to invest in the core EU countries.

The impact of outward FDI on the performance of Chinese multinationals

4 - 12 - 2014 in Featured Publications, Working Papers Tags: China, Emerging Countries, FDI

BOFIT Discussion Papers 24 • 2014

with Claudio Cozza and Marco Sanfilippo

Using a new firm-level database, EMENDATA, this paper investigates the effects on Chinese multinational enterprises of Outward FDI (OFDI) into advanced European countries. Propensity score matching is combined with a difference-in-difference estimator to reduce the problems of self-selection of treated firms in foreign markets. The results provide robust evidence in support of the view that China’s OFDI had so far a positive impact on domestic activities in enhancing firms’ productivity and scales of operation.

Emerging Market Multinationals Investing in Europe: Threat or Opportunity?

26 - 11 - 2014 in Presentations Tags: Emerging Countries, FDI, MNEs

CIRCLE – University of Lund – Sweden

I participated in panel on The Challenge of Responding to the Increased Globalization of Economic Activities and Mobility of Talent at Circle 10th Anniversary Seminar.

Download the PDF

Investigating Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investments: How Can Firm-level Data Help?

18 - 11 - 2014 in Featured Publications, Journal Articles, Publications Tags: China, Emerging Countries, FDI

China and the World Economy, 22, 6: 44-63

The article is written in collaboration with Alessia Amighini, Claudio Cozza and Marco Sanfilippo.

The empirical literature on China’s outward foreign direct investment mainly relies on aggregate data from official statistics, but the reliability of such data is currently a matter of concern because it does not take account of relevant features such as industry breakdown, ownership structure and entry mode. A novel firm-level database, EMENDATA, compiled by matching data from several available sources on various types of cross-border deals and including information on group structure, provides a more accurate picture and enables new empirical analyses of the rapidly increasing presence of Chinese companies abroad.

Se la multinazionale arriva da un paese emergente

16 - 11 - 2014 in Articles, Media Tags: Emerging Countries, FDI

Lavoce.info

An article about emerging multinationals investing in Europe and their impact on the local economy written with Elisa Giuliani. We investigate how subsidiaries of multinationals from both emerging (EMNEs) and advanced (AMNEs) economies investing in Europe learn from the local context and contribute to it as much as they benefit from it. There are EMNE subsidiaries that contribute through their significant local innovative efforts to development processes in the host country. This suggests possible win-win situations from which novel policy implications may be drawn.

Is Co-Invention Expediting Technological Catch Up? A Study of Collaboration between Emerging Country Firms and EU inventors

9 - 11 - 2014 in Publications, Working Papers Tags: Catch up, Emerging Countries, Innovation, Patents

Papers in Innovation Studies #25 CIRCLE – Lund University

with Elisa Giuliani and Arianna Martinelli

Firms from emerging countries such as Brazil, India, and China (BIC) are going global, and Europe is attracting around one-third of their direct outward investments. Growing internationalization constitutes an opportunity for technological catch up. In this paper we analyze BIC firms’ cross-border inventions with European Union (EU-27) actors, during the period 1990-2012. Our results suggest that cross-border inventions represent an opportunity for BIC firms to accumulate technological capabilities, access frontier knowledge, and appropriate the property rights of co-inventions.

Rising Powers’ FDI in Europe: a threat or an opportunity?

21 - 08 - 2014 in Articles, Media Tags: Emerging Countries, Innovation, MNEs

Rising Powers Blog

A paper by Rabellotti, together with Giuliani, Gorgoni and Guenther, was reviewed in the Rising Powers Blog.

Emerging-market MNEs investing in Europe. A typology of subsidiary global–local connections

1 - 08 - 2014 in Featured Publications, Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Emerging Countries, Innovation, Local Development, MNEs

International Business Review, 23(4): 680-691

The article is co-authored with Elisa Giuliani, Sara Gorgoni and Cristina Guenther.

It empirically investigates how subsidiaries of multinationals from both emerging (EMNEs) and advanced (AMNEs) economies investing in Europe learn from the local context and contribute to it as much as they benefit from it. To explore this we classify the behavior of MNE subsidiaries into different typologies on the basis of how knowledge is transferred within the multinational and on the nature of the local innovative connections. The empirical analysis relies on an entirely new, subsidiary-level dataset in the industrial machinery sector in Italy and Germany. Results show that EMNEs and AMNEs undertake different strategies for tapping into local knowledge and for transferring it within the company. We identify a new typology of EMNE subsidiary that contributes through its significant local innovative efforts to development processes in the host country. This result suggests possible win-win situations from which novel policy implications may be drawn.

The article has been reviewed in the Rising Powers Blog.