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*THUNDERBIRD INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW*

*CALL FOR PAPERS*



*Chinese Multinationals in the New Era of Globalization: *

*The Belt-and-Road Initiative amidst Rising* *Anti-globalization Sentiment*



*Submission Deadline: September 1, 2018*



*Guest Editors:*

Liang Wang, University of San Francisco, USA, Coordinating Editor

Haifeng Yan, East China University of Science and Technology, China

Xiaohua Yang, University of San Francisco, USA

Francesco Ciabuschi, Uppsala University, Sweden

William Wei, Grant MacEwan University, Canada



*Thunderbird International Business Review* is pleased to invite
submissions to a special issue, which will address issues faced by Chinese
multinationals in the new era of globalization, when their international
expansion is facing threats from the rise of anti-globalization sentiment
across the globe, as well as opportunities from China’s Belt-and-Road
Initiative.



The accelerating internationalization of emerging market multinational
enterprises (EMNEs) has urged management scholars to understand how and why
these firms differ from MNEs from developed economies (Bonaglia, Goldstein,
& Mathews, 2007; Ramamurti, 2012) and whether they are theoretically
distinct (Hernandez & Guillén, 2018), in terms of their motivation (Luo &
Tung, 2007), strengths and weaknesses (Madhok & Keyhani, 2012), strategy (Luo,
Sun, & Wang, 2011), among other things. While liability of foreignness is a
challenge for both developed and emerging-economy multinationals, liability
of country of origin (COO) is primarily an issue for emerging economy
multinationals (Muralidharan, Wei & Liu, 2017). In this growing body of
literature in particular, scholars are calling for a better understanding
of what is “Chinese” about Chinese foreign direct investment and Chinese
multinational enterprises (CMNEs) (Buckley et al., 2007; Deng, 2012; Deng,
2013; Deng, Yang, Wang, & Doyle, 2017), and how this translates into unique
models and business strategies (Child & Rodrigues, 2005; Boisot & Meyer,
2008; Rui & Yip, 2008).



As Ramamurti and Hillemann (2018) posit, despite still being infant rather
than mature MNEs, CMNEs have grown much faster than their Western
counterparts in the past. A series of different factors have contributed to
the high speed and large scope of CMNEs’ internationalization: the
leapfrogging advantages of being late-movers, favorable Chinese government
policies, and more importantly, a favorable global context for
internationalization (Ramamurti, 2012; Ramamurti & Hillemann, 2018); the
rise of outsourcing; the modularization of global value chains, which could
be even further accelerated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and China’s
Belt and Road Initiative (Yang, Roddy, Lewis & Moise, 2018); the
codification of knowledge; the gradual concentration and globalization of
retailing; the more fluid international market for talent and professional
services; and the increasing open market for corporate control in many
countries (Williamson & Zeng, 2009, p. 81).



Despite the insights learned from existing studies, however, we believe
that CMNEs and EMNEs in general have entered into a new era of
globalization with both threats and opportunities, and that their
corresponding strategies in the new era will have profound impacts on the
global economic landscape, and on the Chinese economy in particular. First,
the traditionally pro-free-trade Western society is witnessing an
unprecedented wave of anti-globalization sentiment which, in some
countries, has been translated into government policies such as the Trump
administration’s “Buy American, Hire American” policy, and are having
impacts on MNE strategy, location, and operations. As such, it is
questionable whether the favorable global context for internationalization
that has blessed the rise of CMNEs and EMNEs in general will be maintained.
Second, in contrast, its rise to the second largest global economy gives
China the ambition and resources to shape the process of globalization
according to its own pace. One notable example is the Belt-and-Road
Initiative, which promises to boost economic connectivity and cooperation
among Eurasian countries at a grand scale. This opens opportunities to
CMNEs but also challenges them to respond to more complexities in the
environment, including divergent institutions (Tan & Wang, 2011), informal
economy (De Castro, etc., 2014), and other issues. Lastly, the more recent
escalating trading tension between the U.S. and China provides additional
complexity to CMNEs. For example, Huawei, the flagship Chinese high-tech
MNE, has been effectively banned from the American market, and ZTE, another
Chinese telecom giant, is now in turmoil due to the export ban issued by
the U.S. government.



How do CMNEs respond to opportunities and threats in the new era of
globalization? What are the Chinese characteristics of their strategy? How
are CMNEs’ management and foreign subsidiary strategies evolving in a time
of global change? How do their responses shape the process of
globalization? In this special issue we welcome papers addressing these
issues and related topics.



Topics of Special Interest:

·         What are the threats and opportunities for Chinese firms to
engage in globalization of business and the Belt and Road projects?

·         Participation of CMNEs, EMNEs, and MNEs from developed economies
in the Belt-and-Road Initiative

·         CMNEs entering emerging markets as well as developed economies

·         The Chinese characteristics of CMNE strategies

·         How are CMNEs’ management and corporate strategies changing in
order to meet new global opportunities and threats?

·         How is the relationship between CMNEs’ headquarters and foreign
subsidiaries changing to support new strategies?

·         How are subsidiary level strategies and processes contributing to
CMNEs’ further global expansion?

·         Strategic responses of CMNEs to the U.S.-China trade tension, and
the global anti-globalization sentiment.

·         How do Chinese firms respond to competition from foreign and
informal firms?

·         How do CMNEs deploy UN sustainable development goals and
corporate social responsibility as a vehicle to build up competitive
advantages?

·         How do CMNEs participate in global supply chains?



The topics listed are meant to be illustrative; submissions on any topic
that relates to the theme of Chinese multinationals in the new era of
globalization are encouraged. Submissions should be prepared in accordance
with Thunderbird International Business Review’s style guide and submitted
to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tibr by *September 1, 2018*.



Be sure to indicate that it is for the special issue, Chinese
Multinationals in the New Era of Globalization: The Belt-and-Road
Initiative amidst the Rise of Protectionism. The authors of submissions are
invited to attend the Academy of International Business China Chapter
conference in Beijing, China, to be hosted by East China University of
Science and Technology and co-hosted by the University of San Francisco,
May 26-27, 2018. At this conference, authors will receive development
feedback from the editorial team and discussants. For more details of the
conference, please contact the conference organizing committee at
[log in to unmask] The special issue is tentatively scheduled to be
published in 2019.



*For additional information contact:*

Liang Wang, PhD, [log in to unmask] , Coordinating Editor

TIBR Managing Editor, [log in to unmask]



*References:*



Boisot, M. & Meyer, M. (2008). Which way through the open door? Reflections
on the internationalization of Chinese firms. Management and Organizational
Review, 4(3), 349-36

Bonaglia, F., Goldstein, A., & Mathews, J. A. (2007). Accelerated
internationalization by emerging markets’ multinationals: The case of the
white goods sector. Journal of World Business, 42(4): 369-383.

Buckley, P. J., Clegg, L. J., Cross, A. R., Liu, X., Voss, H., & Zheng, P.
(2007). The determinants of Chinese outward foreign direct investment.
Journal of International Business Studies, 38(4): 499-518.

Child, J. & Rodrigues, S. (2005). The internationalisation of Chinese
firms: A case for theoretical extension. Management and Organization Review,
1(3), 381-410.

De Castro, J. O., Khavul, S., & Bruton, G. D. (2014). Shades of grey: how
do informal firms navigate between macro and meso institutional
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Deng, P. (2012). The internationalization of Chinese firms: A critical
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Deng, P. (2013). Chinese Outward Direct Investment Research: Theoretical
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Deng, P., Yang, X., Wang, L., & Doyle, B. (2017). Chinese investment in
advanced economies: Opportunities and challenges. Thunderbird International
Business Review, 59(4): 461–471.

Hernandez, E., & Guillén, M. F. (2018). What’s theoretically novel about
emerging-market multinationals? Journal of International Business Studies,
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Luo, Y., Sun, J., & Wang, S. L. (2011). Emerging economy copycats:
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Luo, Y., & Tung, R. L. (2007). International expansion of emerging market
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Madhok, A., & Keyhani, M. (2012). Acquisitions as entrepreneurship:
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Muralidharan E., Wei W. and X. Liu (2017). Integration by Emerging‐Economy M
ultinationals‐ Perspectives from Chinese M&As, Thunderbird International Bus
iness Review, Vol 59 (4)

Ramamurti, R. (2012). What is really different about emerging market
multinationals? Global Strategy Journal, 2(1): 41-47.

Ramamurti, R., & Hillemann, J. (2018). What is “Chinese” about Chinese
multinationals? Journal of International Business Studies, 49(1): 1-15.

Rui, H. & Yip, G. (2008) Foreign acquisitions by Chinese firms: A strategic
intent perspective. Journal of World Business, 43(2), 213–226.

Tan, J., & Wang, L. (2011). MNC Strategic Responses to Ethical Pressure: An
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Williamson, P. J., & Zeng, M. (2009). Chinese multinationals: Emerging
through new global gateways. In R. Ramamurti, & J. V. Singh (Eds.),
Emerging Multinationals in Emerging Markets: 81-109. Cambridge: Cambridge
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Yang, Roddy, Lewis and Moise, (2018). One Belt, One Road, One World: Where
is US Business Connectivity? In China's Belt and Road Initiative: Changing
the Rules of Globalization, Zhang, et al, eds. Forthcoming.

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