Internationalization of state-owned enterprises from emerging markets: Overview of theoretical approaches

Abstract

The article presents the analysis of the theoretical and empirical research on the phenomenon of the internationalization of state-owned enterprises from emerging market countries. Contemporary internationalized state-owned enterprises are far from the uncompetitive and ineffective firms of the 20th century that mostly operated domestically and give examples of truly exciting international strategies. However the question stays open, namely how exactly state ownership shapes their international strategies. The existing studies are vast and lack systematization, and the purpose of this article is to analyze the most widely used theoretical approaches that investigate internationalization of emerging markets of stateowned enterprises. The most popular theoretical approach to study the internationalization of emerging markets of state-owned enterprises is the institutional perspective that studies how the interplay of state ownership of companies and institutional environment shapes their international strategies. Nevertheless, the synergy of theoretical approaches is needed in order to extend knowledge on the internationalization of the state-owned enterprises. Examples of such a synergy are presented in this paper. It also offers prospects for future research and further topics to study. Analysis of theoretical approaches that study internationalization of emerging markets of state-owned enterprises helps map the research field and show where it is moving. The paper has value for both academia and practitioners that deal with the global expansion of state-owned enterprises from emerging markets.