The majority of multinational enterprises （MNEs） traditionally originate from developed countries. In the last ten years, however, there has been dramatic growth in foreign direct investment （FDI） from China. It i...The majority of multinational enterprises （MNEs） traditionally originate from developed countries. In the last ten years, however, there has been dramatic growth in foreign direct investment （FDI） from China. It is a comparatively new phenomenon that challenges the classic FDI theories. In this paper, we review the pros and cons of two important theories, known as the Owner- ship-Location-Internalization （0LI） model and Linkage-Leverage-Learning （LLL） model, and use the statistical data and company case studies from China to test the plausibility of these two models. We believe that neither of them suits totally： the OLI model is quite use- fill for understanding FDI from China to developing economies, while the LLL model is more powerful for explaining the FDI to de- veloped economies. We argue that the companies from China attain a very advantageous position as intermediates in the global economy They may catch up with the first movers if they integrate OLI-led and LLL-led FDI within one firm. This combination can bring to- gether the most advanced knowledge acquired in developed economies with the knowledge about adaptation needs and the needs for cost reduction in production as expressed in developing economies. It may also accelerate the knowledge transfer globally. We thus fill a gap in research into the geographical pattern of Chinese FDI and offer a deeper understanding of the internationalization of Chinese MNEs and revolving knowledge transfer.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.4097106941101120)+1 种基金State Scholarship Fund by China Scholaship CouncilMinistry of Education of the people's Republic of China(No.2009614028)
文摘The majority of multinational enterprises （MNEs） traditionally originate from developed countries. In the last ten years, however, there has been dramatic growth in foreign direct investment （FDI） from China. It is a comparatively new phenomenon that challenges the classic FDI theories. In this paper, we review the pros and cons of two important theories, known as the Owner- ship-Location-Internalization （0LI） model and Linkage-Leverage-Learning （LLL） model, and use the statistical data and company case studies from China to test the plausibility of these two models. We believe that neither of them suits totally： the OLI model is quite use- fill for understanding FDI from China to developing economies, while the LLL model is more powerful for explaining the FDI to de- veloped economies. We argue that the companies from China attain a very advantageous position as intermediates in the global economy They may catch up with the first movers if they integrate OLI-led and LLL-led FDI within one firm. This combination can bring to- gether the most advanced knowledge acquired in developed economies with the knowledge about adaptation needs and the needs for cost reduction in production as expressed in developing economies. It may also accelerate the knowledge transfer globally. We thus fill a gap in research into the geographical pattern of Chinese FDI and offer a deeper understanding of the internationalization of Chinese MNEs and revolving knowledge transfer.
