Introduction

China goes global: public policies' influence on small- and medium-sized enterprises' international expansion

“…This may indicate that: (i) the government supports (or has supported) only a group of tier 1, national champions, or chosen companies and/or industries in their internationalisation process, (ii) the Government supports (or has supported) the internationalisation of companies only to politically or economically strategic markets (like the US and the EU to acquire capabilities, or Africa for natural resources, for example), (iii) the Government supported the first wave of companies going abroad but as the number of firms grows this support tends to be less tangible, and/or (iv) there is a new breed of competitive networks or alliances based on the combination of complementary capabilities (Williamson and Yin 2009, Fornes and Butt Philip 2012, Williamson et al 2013 where the support of the government has not been a key element in their internationalisation process.…”

“…Chinese SOEs and MNCs have been receiving preferential support mainly through broad access to financial resources, government involvement usually through ownership, market monopoly, government procurement contracts, assistance to form partnerships and joint ventures, and access to statesupported scientific and technical knowledge (Child and Rodrigues 2005). This, among other evidence, has led Williamson et al (2013) to add government-specific advantages (GSAs) to Rugman's (2005) CSA-FSA framework to capture the quality of government-created assets, governance, and policies that influence the development of companies' capabilities which ultimately may lead to international expansion.…”

“…Buckley et al (2007) added that the government supports some SOEs by having capital available at below-market rates and in subsidised or soft loans from banks influenced or owned by the government. This policy has arguably been one of the main drivers for the international expansion of Chinese MNCs and/or SOEs (Contractor 2013, Williamson et al 2013 in the last few years. This apparent contradiction raises a question about the effectiveness of public policies in the development of SMEs in China.…”

“…In this context, the extent of state ownership may have a decisive influence on firm behaviour and condition their strategic decisions of international expansion. Similarly, Chinese industrial policies, such as public contracts and government procurement, have been used mostly to promote the expansion of selected state-owned enterprises (Nolan 2002, China Daily 2012 (Williamson et al 2013), China has experienced an evolution towards a more entrepreneurial institutional policy framework (Chen 2006). Nevertheless, still the allencompassing controls of local governments generate institutional dependence and increase transaction costs Rodrigues 2005, Boisot andMeyer 2008).…”

“…Several books and articles published in recent years have provided a comprehensive overview of the role played by international trade in promoting economic growth and productivity in China, as well as about the strategies of Chinese multinationals to enter new markets, the effects of the institutional environment on the internationalization process, and the role played by regional and national government policies in the international expansion of large Chinese companies (Hoskisson et al 2000, Yeung 2002, Wright et al 2005, Buckley et al 2007, Cunningham 2011, Fornes and Butt Philip 2012, Williamson et al 2013). …”