Title: Characteristics and host country drivers of Chinese FDI in Europe: a company-level analysis

Authors: Peter Gammeltoft; Kirsten Fasshauer

Addresses: Department of International Economics and Management, Copenhagen Business School, Porcelænshaven 24, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark ' Damco International A/S, Hammerensgade 4, DK-1267 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Abstract: The present study of direct investment from mainland China into Europe complements and extends prior studies by building on a firm-level database comprising of 548 Chinese subsidiaries in 26 countries in EU and EFTA. The study identifies and characterises three segments of subsidiaries, predominantly related, respectively, to private companies' market-seeking activities, state-owned companies' production- and technology-seeking activities, and efficiency-seeking activities in Eastern Europe. Through multivariate regression the study confirms that potentials for market exploitation are particularly important host country factors for attracting Chinese FDI. There is no strong correlation between aggregate national R&D spending and Chinese knowledge-seeking investments, reflecting that such investments tend to be individual and highly idiosyncratic cases. Rather than a wholesale adoption or dismissal of extant FDI-theories vis-à-vis new ones, extant theories are found to apply differentially to the different identified segments of Chinese outward FDI.

Keywords: emerging economy multinationals; foreign direct investment; FDI; outward foreign direct investment; Chinese FDI; host country; strategic asset-seeking investments.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2017.083605

International Journal of Technology Management, 2017 Vol.74 No.1/2/3/4, pp.140 - 166

Received: 30 Aug 2014
Accepted: 12 Feb 2015

Published online: 12 Apr 2017 *

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