Title: International entrepreneurship and knowledge acquisition in Chinese international firms

Authors: Hai-Ru Yang, Daniel Z. Ding, Zhi-Qiang Liu

Addresses: Department of Management, Shanghai Financial College, Shangchuan Road 995, Pudong District, Shanghai 201209, China. ' Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ' School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Abstract: This study explores the role of a firm|s external and internal factors in its acquisition of foreign knowledge. We hypothesised that international entrepreneurship is positively related to foreign knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, this relationship is moderated by factors including the organisation|s organic structure and network strength. On the basis of a sample of 219 Chinese international firms, our research results indicate that the organic structure positively moderates the relationship between international entrepreneurship and foreign knowledge acquisition. In contrast, the organisation|s network strength hinders the effectiveness of international entrepreneurship.

Keywords: business; emerging markets; international entrepreneurship; knowledge acquisition; foreign knowledge; internationalisation; Chinese firms; China.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2010.035664

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2010 Vol.2 No.4, pp.370 - 384

Published online: 02 Oct 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article