• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1-16
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• 2023

Purpose Despite the ongoing digital transformation, it is not clear whether emerging market firms follow their manufacturing FDI path in the emerging digital industries. This paper examines how digital orientation affects the location strategies in internationalization and how the existing innovation capacities moderate the link between digital orientation and the location strategies. Design/methodology/approach This study chooses the Chinese setting for research design because digital transformation is already prevalent in the society and the cases of outward expansion are salient among the emerging markets. It uses the panel dataset of 976 Chinese listed firms that consists of 6,648 observations spanning from 2007 to 2017. Ordinary least square regression is used for the statistical approach with a one-year lag in the model. Findings Digital orientation increases a likelihood of emerging multinationals' entries in developed countries, and a high level of innovative capacities strengthens the link. Two groups seem to prefer entries in developed countries: firms with a high level of digital orientation with a high level of innovative capacities and firms with a low level of digital orientation, if with a low level of innovative capacities. The former reflects the context of digital transformation and the latter hints at the tax avoidance or interests in real estate. Research implications or originality While emerging multinationals are known to prefer entries in developing countries for capacity arbitrage, our results forecast that their FDI strategies may have a drastic change as digital transformation deepens.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.19-28
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• 2023

Purpose: Emerging markets under industrialization have become increasingly influential over the global natural-resource transactions. However, their average deal completion rates have been relatively low. The international business (IB) literature regards the low rate as evidence of 'double hurdle', the extra disadvantages in doing overseas business for firms from developing countries. Because legitimacy building mitigates liability of foreignness, we argue that an acquirer's environmental responsibility effectively builds legitimacy. Research design, data and methodology: Stakeholders in the host country spread the acquirer's environmental responsibility so that, by raising legitimacy, they may strengthen the link between environmental responsibility and deal completion. Our dataset consists of the 608 cross-border acquisition deals announced by the 196 firms in Brazil, Russia, India, and China over 2008-2019 period. Results: A logit regression result confirms that environmental responsibility increases the likelihood of acquisition deal completion. Also, host-market stakeholders positively moderate the relationship between environmental responsibility and the likelihood of deal completion. Conclusions: Overall, this study contributes to the IB literature by identifying environmental responsibility as a key approach to lowering the double hurdle in internationalization of firms in emerging markets. Any emerging multinationals interested in the foreign, brownfield entries to the natural-resource industries must enhance the environmental responsibility, which turns out extremely important.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.274-280
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• 2017

The smart-car industry has emerged as the important variable that will decide the future industrial contour of the automotive industry, together with commercialization of electronic vehicles, connected cars, infotainment, telematics, and the autonomous/self-driving car. This study analyzes the strategic position of platform companies and car manufacturers that would determine the future of the smart-car market. The findings of this study show that despite the entry barriers in industrial factors, such as economies of scale, the industrial infrastructure, and global production networks, and technical factors like exclusive head-sector information, car manufacturers may be deprived of their industrial leadership by platform companies with map and user data, big data capabilities, and user interface experience if they lag behind ICT innovation. This insight is based on the emerging importance of software and platforms, and the simplification of car structures, proven by the successful commercialization of electronic vehicles. This study complements existing studies mainly focused on technical aspects of the smart-car industry by examining the strategic dimensions of platform companies and their approach to the future smart-car market by comparing them with existing car manufacturing multinationals.