Russian companies: the rise of new multinationals

Abstract

PurposeThe focus of this paper is the emergence of Russia's multinational companies. It aims to analyse their motives to internationalise as well as the approaches to internationalisation. While relevance of the theoretical perspectives is highlighted, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the present‐day phenomenon of emerging Russian multinationals.Design/methodology/approachThe paper relies on a qualitative approach for the analysis of the nature of Russian multinationals. The phenomenon of the emerging Russian multinationals is analysed through the prism and using insights from a number of subjects, namely transition studies, politics, innovation studies and international business studies.FindingsThe paper traces the evolution of Russian companies; the idiosyncratic path of their formation serves as a background for understanding of their internationalisation strategies. A special attention is devoted to the R&D activities of Russian multinational companies, and access to foreign technology is found to be an important driver of internationalisation.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper highlights relevance of further research on Russian multinationals and outlines research avenues.Practical implicationsThe paper is rich in its practical implications. Specifically, it elaborates on the European Union‐Russian bilateral relations and the role of Russian multinationals in the European economies. The issue of political involvement is raised, and the paper seeks to identify whether Russian companies serve as tools of foreign policy, or they operate as business agents.Originality/valueDespite their increasingly important role in the global economy, Russian companies have been largely overshadowed by the emergence of Indian and Chinese multinationals and not sufficiently addressed, even neglected, in the literature. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to fill in some gaps in the literature regarding this research area.

Effects of subnational regional corruption on growth strategies in emerging economies: Evidence from Russian domestic and international M&A activity

“…In this network, the regional level occupies a central role: despite the de jure centralization of the federal bureaucracy, the federal government must have the support of regional authorities to be effective (Chebankova, 2005). 17 16 There is also some literature about the internationalization activities of Russian firms (Bulatov, 1998;Filippov, 2010;Kalotay, 2002;Kuznetsov, 2011;Liuhto, Heikkila, & Laaksonen, 2009;Liuhto & Majuri, 2014;Panibratov, 2011) and, more generally, the emergence of multinational firms from Eastern Europe (e.g., Andreff, 2003;Caputo, Pellegrini, Dabic, & Dana, 2016;Gorynia, Nowak, Trąpczy nski, & Wolniak, 2015;Rugraff, 2010). 17 Russia is characterized by regional legislation that is harmonized with federal legislation for most of its formal rules.…”

“…There is also some literature about the internationalization activities of Russian firms (Bulatov, ; Filippov, ; Kalotay, ; Kuznetsov, ; Liuhto, Heikkila, & Laaksonen, ; Liuhto & Majuri, ; Panibratov, ) and, more generally, the emergence of multinational firms from Eastern Europe (e.g., Andreff, ; Caputo, Pellegrini, Dabic, & Dana, ; Gorynia, Nowak, Trąpczyński, & Wolniak, ; Rugraff, ).…”

Outward Foreign Direct Investment from Russia: A Literature Review

“…Linda Johansson (2006) carried out some ground-breaking research when she studied Russian migrant entrepreneurs in Southwestern Finland. She discovered two rather unexpected Jumpponen (2001, 2003); Kalotay (2002Kalotay ( , 2004Kalotay ( , 2007Kalotay ( , 2008bKalotay ( , 2013; Liuhto (2002); Andreff (2003); Pelto et al (2003); Vahtra and Liuhto (2004; Zashev (2004Zashev ( , 2005b; Crane et al (2005); Heinrich (2005); Sauvant (2005); Vahtra (2005Vahtra ( , 2006Vahtra ( , 2007aVahtra ( , 2009Vahtra ( , 2010a; Vahtra and Zashev (2006); Kuznetsov (2007aKuznetsov ( , 2008aKuznetsov ( , 2010aKuznetsov ( , 2011aKuznetsov ( , 2011bKuznetsov ( , 2011dKuznetsov ( , 2012bKuznetsov ( , 2012cKuznetsov ( , 2012dKuznetsov ( , 2013; Skolkovo (2007Skolkovo ( , 2009 ;Deloitte (2008); Ehrstedt and Vahtra (2008);Filippov (2008Filippov ( , 2010Filippov ( , 2011cFilippov ( , 2012Filippov ( , 2013; Blyakha (2009) results: The Russian migrant en...…”

Russia's Emerging Multinational Companies Amidst the Global Economic Crisis

“…Yet, a stream of literature focusing on emerging Russian multinationals can be identified (e.g. Bulatov, 2001;Crane et al, 2005;Heinrich, 2003Heinrich, , 2006Kalotay, 2002Kalotay, , 2004Kalotay, , 2005Kalotay, , 2007Kalotay, , 2008Kets de Vries et al, 2004;Vahtra and Liuhto, 2006;Filippov, 2010). Besides, Moscow School of Management 'Skolkovo' published a number of analytical reports on the international expansion of Russian companies.…”