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The paper aims to investigate the prevailing institutional logics that underpin the organisational behaviours of Chinese contractors and the institutional complexity they face across several strategic areas when they undertake projects abroad.

The paper draws mainly on industry literature, reports and government websites to develop a typology of two ideal types of institutional logics that prevail among Chinese international contractors. The configurations of institutional complexity in different strategic areas are analysed through pattern-matching.

Two main logics are identified, namely, construction and investment logics. These logics in turn lead to patterns of volatile complexity in the strategic areas of business, technology, human resources and marketing; patterns of aligned complexity in operational and information technology strategic areas; and patterns of segregated complexity in financial strategic area.

The paper presents an ongoing doctoral research. It provides a preliminary understanding of the institutional logics affecting Chinese international contractors and sets out the first step to understand the relationship between complex institutional environments and organisational responses.

Chinese international contractors commonly face resistance, and at times resentment, from the local industries in the countries they operate. The findings of this paper are a first step towards a better understanding of why this is the case and what can be done to rectify the situation and improve long and short-term project performance.

This paper provides practical implications for Chinese contractors to understand their internal context of institutional complexity and provides the basis for further understanding of Chinese contractors’ strategic responses.

This study contributes to the debate about the sustainability of Chinese loans in Africa. The literature suggests that economic growth is among other crucial debt dynamic indicators for assessing debt sustainability in the economy. However, this hypothesis has hardly been tested in the current case due to data ambiguities on Chinese loans to Africa. Following China Africa Research Initiative (CARI)'s initiative to ameliorate these data challenge, this study utilises CARI's dataset in a GMM panel VAR framework for the period (2000–2018) to explore the dynamic relations between Africa's growth and Chinese loans. The methodology is theoretically underpinned by the exogenous growth models that consider physical capital accumulation in the form of savings as a prime growth stimulus in the economy's production function. Thus, Chinese loans are typically viewed as physical capital input that directly adds to Africa's physical capital accumulation. It was found that Africa's growth responds positively to Chinese loans but only in the short run. In the long run, the effects of shocks to Chinese loans on Africa's growth phase out despite the inclusion of merchandise trade as a productivity factor in the model. The findings suggest that Chinese loans can boost Africa's growth through physical capital accumulation. Nonetheless, for growth to continue in the long run, these loans ought to be effectively invested in productive economic sectors that can generate productivity-enhancing economic incentives and enough savings for repayment. This initiative should be complemented by reforming institutions involved in acquiring, investing and servicing Chinese loans.

This article argues that critical realism (CR) offers an ontological position suited to understanding the dynamic relations between multinational companies (MNCs) and the complex political spaces within which they operate. After outlining the core assumptions of CR, the key arguments are elaborated through two case studies which focus on issues of staffing and expatriation. The first case concerns recent developments in the Middle East, highlighting the shifting reality of nationality-based definitions of staffing the MNC, and the second examines the internationalisation of Chinese firms, exploring the way MNCs restructure space to retain access to home-country advantages.

The New Silk Road Diplomacy in the Nineties, the Belt and Road Initiative today, and the Digital Silk Road of the future signal growing Chinese ambitions in international relations. The bold plans and visions may turn into fundaments of future Chinese domination in World affairs. However, the ways they are to be achieved indicate, that the Chinese policy-making did not adapt yet to new reality of being a leader rather than a free-rider taking advantage of other Powers’ international involvement. The goal of the chapter is to point to the limitations of PRC ambitions. Qualitatively new international reality requires qualitatively new approaches. China, if it does not realize that, despite being one of the biggest surprises in terms of dynamics of development in twentieth century, may become one of the biggest disappointments in twenty-first century. The World seems to accept the fact of growing PRC role in international dimensions. The question is, is China ready for this change not only in words but also in practice.

This research seeks to understand the drivers of outward foreign direct investments (FDIs) by state-owned emerging economy firms, the characteristics of their overseas FDI projects and investment locations, and the effects of home and host institutions on the market entry strategies, taking into account the legitimacy of state ownership.

The discussion is based on a comprehensive review of conceptual and empirical literature, as well as case studies available from recognized journals in the field.

State-owned emerging economy firms pursue outward FDIs to respond to policy incentives of the home government and to reduce its political influence over the firm. FDI projects are often large and risky and have low business values. They often enter countries where state ownership is perceived as more legitimate while engaging in legitimacy-building activities in these countries. When their home country has a high level of institutional restrictions, they are less likely to use acquisitions or hold high levels of equity control in foreign subsidiaries. To strengthen local legitimacy, they often use greenfield investments or share equity control with local firms in foreign subsidiaries, particularly when the host country is endowed with strategic assets or when it has a high level of institutional restrictions. However, when having high levels of state ownership or strong political connections, they often commit a high level of resources and hold a high level of equity control in foreign subsidiaries.

The literature mostly investigates the FDI of firms that are structurally separate from the institutions. When the institutions are endogenous as presented in this research, their strategic choices are substantially influenced by noncommercial political motives and perception on their political image.

The chapter examines the current trade war between the United States and China and its impact on the two countries’ military industrial complex in relation to economic growth and development. The trade war has both positive and negative impacts on the country’s economic growth and development. Both countries depend heavily on each other for trade and account for an incredibly significant portion of the global trade. The trade war also impacts on the military industrial complex with respect to the defense budgetary allocation and trade in arms. One of the rationales for the trade war by the Trump Administration is to boost up the domestic economy, which would benefit the military industrial complex. Likewise, the retaliatory tariffs by China are designed to protect the domestic economy and showcase its ability to withstand and challenge the United States. The military industrial complex is important to both the countries. The chapter applied a quantitative design with canonical correlation method to multiple regression, where there are multiple intercorrelated outcome variables relative to military industrial complex and the processes of economic growth and development. It shows that trade wars in the form of increased imposed tariffs on each other by the United States and China has had no significant adverse effect on the Military Industrial Complexes of the two biggest economies of the world.

The research question is how home country corruption and nationalism may affect operations of BRIC multinational enterprises. BRIC composition permits a comparison of two authoritarian regimes and two constitutional democracies. Each BRIC features a different combination of corruption and nationalism. The chapter adds South Africa information for two limited reasons. First, from 2010 South Africa is a member of the BRIC summit process. South Africa is an important entry point to Africa, for BRIC multinationals and particularly for China. Second, concerning corruption and nationalism South Africa is analytically useful as a control context that helps illustrate but does not appear to change highly exploratory BRIC findings.

The chapter draws on limited literature and information concerning corruption and nationalism in BRICs to suggest tentative possibilities. Transparency International provides bribe payers index estimates for 28 large economies, with important multinational enterprises, and corruption perceptions index estimates including those 28 countries. These estimates include the four BRICs and South Africa. The available sources suggest some suggested findings about varying impacts of home country corruption and nationalism on operations of BRIC multinationals.

China and Russia are authoritarian regimes in transition from central planning-oriented communist regimes. They are global military powers, expanding influence in their respective regions. Brazil, India, and South Africa are constitutional democracies. India, a nuclear-armed military power, seeks a regional leadership role in South Asia. Brazil and South Africa are key countries economically in their regions. BRIC multinationals are positioned between home country and host country conditions. Chinese and Russian multinationals may reflect a stronger nationalistic tendency due to home country regimes and ownership structure.

The chapter is an original but highly exploratory inquiry into impacts of corruption and nationalism on BRIC multinationals. Extant BRIC literature tends to understudy effects of home country corruption and nationalism on managerial mindset and incentives in either commercial or state-owned enterprises.