What drives the internationalization of Chinese SMEs? The joint effects of international entrepreneurship characteristics, network ties, and firm ownership

Exploring the Role of Ownership in International Entrepreneurship: How does Ownership Affect Internationalisation of Polish Firms?

“…This result is with line of the result presented in this article that global mindset of owners stimulates internationalisation, but still it is an unidimensional approach. Based on the research of Zhang, Ma, Wang, Li, & Huo, 2016, the relation between ownership (measured only as state-owned enterprises, SOE and non-state-owned enterprises, none-SOE) and internationalisation was supported, nevertheless no detailed dependencies within the ownership characteristics were supported and shown, as the researchers conclude that "we cannot claim a thorough understanding of the impact of ownership as a boundary condition of our conceptual and empirical knowledge about the internationalization behavior of Chinese SME" (p. 532). D 'Angelo, Majocchi and Buck (2016), based on their empirical results, were also able only to make general remarks: family controlled firms are less internationalised than family influenced firms, as well as the role of family managers and external managers is different in these two types of family firms.…”

Internationalisation process of Chinese SMEs: the role of business and ethnic-group-based social networks

“…However, we have an insufficient understanding about the overall interaction process that take place between the SMEs and the associated network actors in influencing the internationalization process of such firms (Araujo et al, 2003;Sandberg, 2014). This gap is even glaring in the context of EM-SMEs (e.g., Tang, 2011;Zhang et al, 2016).…”

“…Recent internationalization studies have begun to adopt a network perspective to explain the internationalization process (Zhou, Wu, and Luo, 2007;Johanson and Vahlne, 2009;Sandberg, 2014;Phino and Prange, 2016). A network indicates business, social, political, and technological relations with other firms and institutional agencies (Larson and Starr, 1993;Johanson and Mattsson, 1988;Vasilchenko, 2011;La Rocca et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2016).…”

“…Arguably different types of network relationships and the relative strength of ties originating from heterogeneous business and social networks would influence these firms internationalization process differently (Ellis, 2000;Sandberg, 2014;Zhang et al, 2016). Thus, internationalizing SMEs are able to strengthen their network positions in the foreign market through the relationship commitment to business networks, learning, and social ties with these networks (Johanson and Vahlne, 2009).…”

“…Second, it complements the traditional internationalization process literature by showing that risk taking behaviors of Chinese SMEs when it comes to their internationalization being overcome by utilizing diverse types of networks relationships. Lastly, it is one of the very few studies that examines both the business (thus economic and formal) and social (thus relational and informal) ethnic network ties on emerging market SMEs' internationalization in the context of the largest emerging economy of China (e.g., Tang, 2011;Zhang et al, 2012Zhang et al, , 2016Zhou et al, 2007).…”