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Among emerging countries' foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe, the Chinese and the Indian ones are the more relevant. Therefore, the paper focuses on Chinese and Indian affiliates in Europe, with a twofold purpose: to shed light on their characteristics and behaviour and to analyse some policy issues in the EU stemming from their arrival to Europe.

First, the paper presents a review of the literature; second, it performs a qualitative analysis on the basis of a proprietary dataset. It then pinpoints the salient features of the Chinese and the Indian firms across Europe. Lastly, it focuses on the impacts of their operations on the European economies, and it concludes by a discussion on policy matters.

Four main results stand out. First, the arrival of Chinese and Indian firms in Europe is linked to home country constraints. Second, large European countries are the most favoured destinations. Third, market access is the main attraction factor for Chinese and Indian firms coming to Europe. Fourth, the sectoral distribution of investments by Chinese and Indian companies reflects for a large part the comparative advantage of their home country.

By taking into consideration data at a micro level, the paper gives a deeper view on FDI beyond the current ideas on the subject. It provides valuable insights on the behaviour of Chinese and Indian investors in Europe at a micro‐level. Furthermore, it explores a sensitive issue which is connected to the impacts on the European economies.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the critical success factors (CSFs) between two groups of European mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in China and Chinese M&As in Europe.

In the paper, a mixed-method research design which combines primary case study with secondary questionnaire survey is applied.

The findings from the case study show the main differences with respect to CSFs between the two groups are related to: importance of relationship building in Chinese culture, Chinese culture trait of high power distance, Chinese decision process, complicated Chinese approval process for foreign companies doing M&As in China, integration of acquired Chinese/European company, and relatively new phenomenon of Chinese acquisitions in Europe. The Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test from the questionnaire survey provides statistical support for significant difference between the two groups regarding the factor of involvement and commitment of acquiring companies’ entrepreneurial CEO/chairman in the M&A process.

This paper is among the first attempts to conduct a comparative study which provides new insights into the differences between the CSFs in European M&As in China and in Chinese M&As in Europe.

That competitiveness in the single European market is recognized by some companies as a challenge providing opportunities, that it is seen by others to be a threat, has been the message communicated in numerous publications. Contributes further knowledge by identifying the various active pursuits of companies in making their visions of successfully competing in Europe a reality, and by highlighting the requirements for a company to become successful post‐1992. Successful management is required to establish a long‐term strategic intent for Europe in order to be competitive and for a company to be a “winner” post‐1992. The “winners” so far are the companies which have pan‐European organizational infrastructure, and can manage manufacturing, brands and distribution, on a European‐wide basis.

The development of the Single European Market and the resulting publicity has persuaded many smaller firms to look to continental Europe as their first choice for market expansion opportunities. These include many UK small firms in the service sector where the economic benefits of a reduction in trade barriers are not so apparent. The approaches used by small service companies and professional practices in dealing with Europe are examined to identify the lessons learnt and to draw comparisons with Central Government advice. Semi‐structured interviews were held with managers from a randomly drawn sample of small firms in the UK with experience of exporting their services to Europe. The firms had experienced varying degrees of success with their forays into Europe. The study suggests that some small service sector firms may have greater potential in non‐EEC and/or English‐speaking nations than in Europe and that for many the experience of Europe has been expensive and erroneous. Small service firms should look to match their strengths to the market, which may be in Eastern Europe, South Africa or the Middle East, rather than tackle an EEC country where their competitive advantages are limited and market conditions may be hostile.

Since the creation of the Single Market on 1 January 1993 there has been much discussion about the future of Europe and the significance of issues such as monetary union, federalism and continued moves to harmonization. But what has been the impact on business? To what extent has business restructured its manufacturing and logistics operations to meet the specific needs of the one European market? And what has been the impact of the new opportunities in Eastern Europe? Reports on the results of a survey of 300 multinational companies in Europe. The findings answer these key questions and also reveal major differences in the way in which North American, European and Far Eastern‐based companies view and operate in Europe.

Presents the results of a survey of 52 UK‐based manufacturing companies to analyse the supply chain problems faced by the companies in relation to serving European markets. On the basis of the research a typology of supply chains has been developed and firms classified accordingly. Results show that, to the majority of companies, basic operational issues are of paramount importance and few are giving consideration to the broader strategic issues of European supply chain management.

The purpose of this paper is to assess how technology‐based university research drives innovation in Europe and China.

This paper draws on extensive theoretical research and literature reviews, and presents a framework based on theories on networking, knowledge creation and innovation. It then introduces three European cases to illustrate practical applications of the framework, and also links the findings to three Chinese cases to make comparative observations as well as recommendations related to Triple Helix concepts and their implications in the China context. It addresses the issue of how learning from universities can enhance company flexibility and performance in innovation, and outlines three different models of collaboration.

The framework and empirical research suggests that weak ties are useful for inspiration in exploration, but that strong industry‐university (I‐U) ties are required to support exploitation. This finding applies both to Europe and China in the industries covered.

This paper provides a new theoretical rationale for I‐U learning alliances as a natural way out from the managerial problem of trying to perform both exploration and exploitation within the same company boundaries. Through the theoretical framework, the academic science domain becomes a logical partner to handle the full phase of exploration and support the process of exploitation. The presented European cases of Bang & Olufsen, Combibloc and Porsche offer new insights into how to perform this act in practice, while the three China‐related cases allow us to cross analyse empirical findings and draw initial conclusions with policy implications for China.

The purpose of this study is to examine specific use of strategic alliances and acquisitions for Chinese firms to catch‐up technologically and to enhance their internationalization competence.

The paper offers a conceptual analysis of internationalization through either FDI or strategic alliances. This is a novel approach, as most of the extant literature tends to view internationalization solely through the prism of FDI. The empirical evidence presented in the paper is twofold. First, it analyses empirical data on strategic alliances and acquisitions retrieved from Thomson SDC database, a premium business directory. Second, it also approaches the topic qualitatively, by offering a case study of Chery Automobile Co. Ltd, a Chinese company that has relied heavily on strategic alliances in its internationalization strategy.

First, the study finds statistical evidence of a rising trend of formation of outward strategic alliances by Chinese firms. Second, the authors demonstrate the specific benefit of strategic alliances for Chinese firms to technically catch up and enhance internationalization competence. It is found that strategic alliances give Chinese firms opportunities to learn from front‐runners in terms of gaining technological capabilities, and there are advantages in tagging developing and advanced markets. The main findings suggest that the internationalization of Chinese firms is in a process in which they gradually integrate technology and marketing/logistics alliances. This approach allows for sufficient time to learn and absorb new skills and technology. Moreover, Chery's case indicates that a series of successful international strategic alliances could also generate tremendous bargaining power for Chinese firms when undertaking subsequent international activities.

This paper contributes to the small but growing body of literature on the internationalization of Chinese companies, their technological catching‐up activities. Unlike previous studies that mainly focus on state‐owned Chinese firms' internationalisation through outward FDI (such as M&A), the paper particularly contributes to the exploration of strategic alliances' effectiveness for private and latecomer firms' internationalization. Empirically, the data analysis and case study reflects the benefits for Chinese firms to enter into strategic alliances with European firms in order to enter into European market and to acquire technological capabilities.

The implications of the Single European Market for libraries and information services are considered with some examples of what is being done. After a general introduction to 1992, the Plan of Action for Libraries in the EC is considered and the library implications of the five Action Lines. The roles of European Documentation Centres, EC Depository Libraries, European Reference Centres; Euro Information Centres and online databases are considered, together with developments in co‐operation and also the human implications.