In this article, we present a springboard perspective to describe the internationalization of emerging market multinational corporations (EM MNEs). EM MNEs use international expansion as a springboard to acquire strategic resources and reduce their institutional and market constraints at home. In so doing, they overcome their latecomer disadvantage in the global stage via a series of aggressive, risk-taking measures by aggressively acquiring or buying critical assets from mature MNEs to compensate for their competitive weaknesses. We discuss unique traits that characterize the international expansion of EM MNEs, and the unique motivations that steer them toward internationalization. We further delineate peculiar strategies and activities undertaken by these firms in pursuit of international expansion, as well as internal and external forces that might compel or facilitate their propulsion into the global scene. We finally explain the risks and remedies associated with this international ‘springboarding’ strategy and highlight major issues meriting further investigation. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 481–498. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400275

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This paper focuses on the utilization of guanxi, which is an important cultural and social element in China, and the impact of guanxi on firm performance. Although guanxi is embedded in every aspect of Chinese social life, companies demonstrate different needs and capacity for guanxi cultivation. Chinese firms develop guanxi as a strategic mechanism to overcome competitive and resource disadvantages by cooperating and exchanging favors with competitive forces and government authorities. We develop an integrative framework theorizing guanxi utilization according to institutional, strategic, and organizational factors, and we explore the impact of guanxi on firm performance, primarily sales growth and net profit growth. Our findings, based on a survey of 128 firms in central China, provide strong support that institutional, strategic, and organizational factors are critical determinants of guanxi with competitive forces. However, only institutional and strategic factors are significant for guanxi utilization with government authorities. In general, guanxi leads to higher firm performance, but is limited to increased sales growth, and has little impact on profit growth. Guanxi benefits market expansion and competitive positioning of firms, but does not enhance internal operations.Guanxi is a cultural characteristic that has strong implications for interpersonal and interorganizational dynamics in Chinese society. It refers to the concept of drawing on a web of connections to secure favors in personal and organizational relations. Chinese people and organizations cultivate guanxi energetically, subtly, and imaginatively, which governs their attitudes toward longterm social and personal relationships. Guanxi is an intricate and pervasive relational network that contains implicit mutual obligations, assurances, and understanding. It has been pervasive for centuries in every aspect of Chinese social and organizational activities. Modern Chinese society still operates within the realm of these countless social and business guanxi networks. It is thus critical for businesses in China, whether foreign or local, to understand and properly utilize guanxi in order to gain an edge over competitors.The practice of guanxi stems from Confucianism, which fostered the broad cultural aspects of collectivism manifested in the importance of networks of interpersonal relations. Guanxi has been the lifeblood of personal relationships and business conduct in Chinese society (Xin and Pearce, 1996). In the present-day fast-changing Chinese environments, guanxi has become even more entrenched with strong and direct implications for social attitudes and business practices. Guanxi is a critical factor in firm performance in China, affecting the flow of resources and a firm's interaction with the task environment. As China continues its economic reform and property rights remain ambiguous, guanxi has become more n = 128

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Building on economic and social exchange theories, this study investigates the different roles transactional and relational mechanisms have in hindering opportunism and improving relationship performance in an emerging economy. Our study applied to manufacturer–distributor dyads in China and used matched survey data (225 paired sample firms) to test our hypotheses. Our hierarchical multivariate regression and semipartial correlation analyses suggest that transactional mechanisms are more effective in restraining opportunism while relational mechanisms are more powerful in improving relationship performance. This performance is improved more significantly when both contracts and relational norms are used jointly than when used separately. Likewise, opportunism is curbed more effectively when both contracts and trust are used jointly than when used individually.

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This study examines how contract, cooperation, and performance are associated with one another within international joint ventures (IJVs). We argue that contract and cooperation are not substitutes but complements in relation to IJV performance. An IJV contract provides an institutional framework guiding the course of cooperation, while cooperation overcomes the adaptive limits of contracts. Our analysis of 293 IJVs in a dynamic market demonstrates that previous cooperation bolsters contractual adaptability, which in turn nurtures current cooperation between the same partners. We find that contract completeness and cooperation drive IJV performance both independently and interactively. When contracts are more complete, cooperation contributes more to performance. Contract and cooperation differ in their quadratic effects such that the contribution of contract completeness to performance declines as completeness increases but the contribution of cooperation remains linear. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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