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The purpose of this study is to shed light on the twin transition in China in the organization of innovation processes in artificial intelligence (AI) and green technology (GT) development and to understand the role of foreign multinationals in Chinese innovation systems.

A qualitative research approach is used by interviewing executives from German multinationals with expertise in AI and GT development and organization of innovation processes in China. In total, 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with companies, and the data were analysed with a thematic qualitative text analysis.

The findings show that AI applications for GT are primarily developed in cross-company projects that are led by local and regional authorities through the organization of industrial districts and clusters. German multinationals are either being integrated, remaining autonomous or being excluded from these twin transition innovation processes.

This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature by providing one of the first qualitative approach towards twin transition innovation processes in China and exploring the integration of multinational enterprises in cluster organizations. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the first twin transition studies from this perspective in emerging economies.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the evolution, characteristics, motivations, entry patterns, organizational structure and effectiveness of the internationalization of Chinese research institutions in the past 40 years of reform and opening-up.

This paper describes the evolution and practice of Chinese research institutions “going out” by constructing a theoretical framework diagram and uses official statistics and existing research to explain the authors’ points.

The research results show that the internationalization of research institutions has undergone four phases: sprout period, starting period, adjustment period and accelerating period. It shows a rapid growth of investment scale, diversification of investment entities, rich and varied forms, and transition to major countries along the “One Belt and One Road.” Expanding the international market, tracking and acquiring technological frontiers, nurturing domestic R&D talents, and evading the risks of political, economic, cultural and scientific differences between home and host countries are the main motivations for Chinese research institutions to “go global.” Multinational corporations have entered the host country with modes such as M&A, greenfield investment and joint R&D alliances in their own strengths and also presented a variety of organizational structures such as integrated R&D networks.

This paper systematically summarizes the internationalized experience model of research institutions with Chinese characteristics since the reform and opening-up. From the perspective of internationalization model transformation, policy integration and cooperation among emerging economies, it presents the opportunities and challenges faced by the research institutions in the process of internationalization and provides a theoretical basis for improving the internationalization ability of research institutions.

Since the declaration of reform and market opening from China in 1990, China has drawn much attention from the world thanks to its rapid economic growth and its emergence as the world's major consumer market and the center of the global economy. Moreover, it established the new trade order, making East Asia the center of the new trade trend as it becomes a manufactural and sales stronghold of multinational companies. The Chinese distribution market is expected to show a high growth rate by 2010 and it draws attention as a new business sector which can bring huge profits. However, advancement of the Chinese distribution industry now faces systemic problems and research on such problems is insufficient. Therefore, in this study we will conduct SWOT analysis based on previous studies on the Chinese distribution industry and use it as a ground to propose strategic solutions for development.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding on relations between Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) and host country political risk. To contribute to a better understanding of whether traditional wisdom on foreign direct investment (FDI) is sufficient to explain the internationalization of Chinese multinational enterprises, the author collected 15 proxy variables from the PRS Group and Heritage Foundation and applied principal component analysis (PCA) to construct a new political risk index (PRI) that measures multiple facets of political risk for 139 countries.

Using this new PRI as a criterion, the author investigated changes in the political risk distribution (PRD) of Chinese outward FDI (OFDI) regarding investment destinations, large projects, annual investment outflows and sectorial distributions from 2006–2017.

The author found that the vast majority of Chinese OFDI during this period is concentrated in moderate- and low-risk countries, even at the sectorial level. This paper also shows that the continuing reform of Chinese OFDI policy and strong government support have led to an unprecedented increase in Chinese OFDI, while the PRD of Chinese OFDI has maintained a gradual decline over the past decade.

This research provides a new measurement that covers multiple facets of political risk.

The singularity of being the first Chinese manufacturer of drug-eluting stents to arrive in Brazil and the country being selected as the company's first experience outside its home country motivated the interest in the study of this case, vis-à-vis with the characteristic of internationalization medical device companies according to the Uppsala model. Considering this context, the following research question was outlined: “How did Microport internationalize before the distribution of its stents product in Brazil?” The aim of the study is to investigate Microport's internationalization process for the distribution of its drug-eluting stents in Brazil.

Exploratory research under the qualitative method was adopted. It chose the single case study as a procedure for data collection, as it is a revealing, exemplary subject that offers opportunities for access to unusual research. The company MicroPort was chosen because in the period when Chinese medical device companies were focused on gaining market share in China, MicroPort began its international expansion, choosing Brazil as the first country to have its own subsidiary. It consists in the case of the internationalization of a high-tech EMNE in an emerging country that has institutional and cultural differences.

Taking advantage of new technology in highly internationalized environments favors its insertion; the internationalization of medical technology can expand according to the Uppsala Model, which does not explain internationalization, but rather its evolution. Cultural and behavioral issues reinforce that the development of the market for medical devices depends on local perspectives and values. The formation of an ecosystem in the local market for internationalization is observed. One implication of the study is that MicroPort's experience and the application of the Uppsala model for international expansion can serve as an important learning experience for Brazilian multinational companies.

Empirical analysis carried out in the context of a single company. Although the results can be used as lessons learned from the application of the Uppsala model for international expansion of EMNE in an emerging market, caution should be exercised when generalizing its findings. Future studies could carry out comparative cases considering other emerging multinational companies, from the same sector or even from different industries, investing in other emerging markets. There is a limitation of the fact that the case studied does not explore the concepts of the later stages of the Uppsala model.

High-tech EMNEs internationalizing in other markets need to adopt aggressive strategies. The need to adopt different strategies for supply chain operations according to the specificities of the markets in which they operate. Important contributions to the Uppsala model, with regard to the process of passing stages, learning and networking. The findings of this study have similarities to the process described as a sequence of distinct phases of activities.

A local top management team is essential to deal with institutional issues of government agencies when EMNE is internationalized in a culturally distant market. When there are major institutional differences between the country of origin and the host country, the autonomy in the management of the foreign subsidiary positively influences the acceleration of the internationalization process of companies in the high-tech sector. When there are major institutional differences between the country of origin and the country of destination, the use of local social networks positively influences the acceleration of the internationalization process of companies in the high-technology sector.

Regardless of these limitations, the study provided an exciting case of internationalization of a Chinese company in Brazil operating in a high-tech medical sector. The challenges for the internationalization of EMNEs continue, which makes it opportune for future studies to include more research in this area. The propositions suggested in the study may be the first step.

The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively examine the influence of formal and informal institutional differences on enterprise investment margin, mode and result.

This paper is based on 2,440 micro samples of large-scale outbound investment from 609 Chinese enterprises from the years 2005 to 2016.

The study has found that formal institutional differences have little impact on investment scale, but significantly affect investment diversification. In order to avoid the management risks brought by formal institutional differences, enterprises tend to a full ownership structure. However, the choice between greenfield investment and cross-border mergers and acquisitions is not affected by formal institutional differences. In contrast, the impact of informal institutional differences is more extensive. Both formal and informal institutional differences significantly increase the probability of investment failure. Further research found that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) bridges the formal institutional differences.

The study concludes that developing the BRI, especially cultural exchanges with countries alongside the Belt and Road, will help enterprises to “go global” faster and better.

The purpose of the paper “Commerce, jobs and politics: the impact of the USA–China trade on USA domestic politics” is to examine the impact of Chinese trade with the USA to determine the consequences of the trade on manufacturing employment. The geographic and sectoral impacts of this trade are assessed. The conclusion is that the USA–China trade has affected political polarization in such a way as to affect electoral outcomes. Implications for policy are discussed in the paper.

The overall design is a focused case study in terms of its focus on the USA–China trade relations. There is also a statistical component due to the breakdown of the USA in economic commuting zones.

The major finding is that Chinese import penetration created substantial political polarization in the USA and that polarization affected electoral outcomes. Chinese import penetration also resulted in a shift of jobs from the eastern heartland to the coasts. Much of the transition was aided by the restructuring of jobs within firms from manufacturing to high-end services.

Perhaps, the biggest limitation concerns how general and durable the findings are. The authors establish that the first decade after Chinese entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) (2001) was characterized by economic disruption in the USA labor market. Whether the economic effects will have a longer duration is not known.

One practical limitation is that it is difficult to know what policy actions to take on the basis of the research: trade policy, human capital (education) policy or place-based policies which aid particular regions.

The social implications in this paper are jobs and employment policy.

The author thinks this is very original work, though based on the work of several economists. But outside of a few articles, the author does not think much has appeared in political science journals.

This paper aims to elucidate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, reverse innovation and international performance of emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs).

The authors analyze archival data of Chinese limited companies between 2010 and 2016, including 11,230 firm-year observations about 1708 firms. In order to test the study’s mediation hypotheses, the authors apply an ordinary least square (OLS) regression.

The authors find evidence that the entrepreneurial orientation of EMNEs has a positive effect on reverse innovations. Furthermore, the authors find positive effects of reverse innovation on the international performance of EMNEs. This pattern of results suggests that the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and international performance is partially mediated by reverse innovation.

The study’s findings help managers in EMNEs to promote reverse innovation by building and using their entrepreneurial orientation. It also helps them to set out and gauge the chances of success of their internationalization strategies. The findings also hold relevance for firms in developed economies as well, as they may understand which emerging economy competitors stand to threaten their positions.

The strategic role of reverse innovations – i.e. clean slate, super value and technologically advanced products originating from emerging markets – has generated considerable research attention. It is clear that reverse innovations impact the international performance of EMNEs. Yet how entrepreneurial orientation influences international performance is still underexplored. Thus, the current study clarifies the mechanism by examining and testing the mediating role of reverse innovation among the entrepreneurial orientation–international performance link.

In this exploratory multiple case study, we aim to compare the internationalization of two state-owned enterprises (SOEs) owned by subnational governments with three owned by central governments in Latin America. This study provides a contextualized answer to the question: What are the differences in the internationalization of subnationally owned SOEs compared to central SOEs? This study finds that the speed and diversification of these two types of SOEs’ internationalization differ because they have a different expansion logic. Subnationally owned SOEs have a gradual and diversified expansion following market rules. Central government’s SOEs are specialized and take more drastic steps in their internationalization, which relates to non-market factors.

This study builds an exploratory qualitative comparative case analysis that uses multiple sources of data and information to develop a comprehensive understanding of SOEs through process tracing.

The study posits some assumptions that are confirmed in the case analysis. This study finds relevant differences between sub-national (SSOEs) and central authority (CSOEs’) strategies. SSOEs’ fewer resources and needs to increase income push them to follow a gradual market-driven internationalization and to diversify abroad. CSOEs non-gradual growth is justified by non-market factors (i.e. national politics). CSOEs do not diversify abroad due to the broader set of constituencies they have to face.

Given the exploratory comparative case study of this research, the findings are bounded by the particularities of the cases and their region (Latin America). This paper and its findings can be useful for theory building but it does not claim any generalization capacity.

This study adds complexity into the SOEs phenomenon by distinguishing between different types of SOEs. This paper contributes to the study of subnational phenomena and its effect in SOEs’ internationalization process, which is an understudied topic. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is among the first studies that explore subnational SOEs in Latin America.

The aim of this article is to describe Huawei's internationalization process in Venezuela and show how socio-political and economic conditions helped to expedite the company's development in this Latin American nation between 2006 and 2019. Through this internationalization process, Huawei participated in a large technological transition in Venezuelan telecommunications.

This research uses an integrative approach, developing a quasi-case study from a review of the academic literature, contemporary news stories and institutional and practitioner documents.

The review indicates that Huawei was engaged in business with the Venezuelan phone company before its renationalization. Secondly, Huawei's internationalization was a beneficiary of the increased relations between the Venezuelan and Chinese governments, mainly through “oil for loans/goods” agreements. Lastly, this internationalization process includes wholly owned subsidiaries, direct export, greenfield and government joint ventures.

This research provides an understanding to other firms and strategists about the benefits of strong bilateral economic relationships between home and host countries.

This paper is among the first academic articles that describe the internationalization process of Huawei in Venezuela. Considering the host country's changing political and economic conditions during the last 20 years, such research may provide a perspective for considering other Chinese business expansions in Venezuela and Latin America.