The evolution of strategic asset-seeking acquisitions by emerging market multinationals

Strategic Asset Seeking and Innovation Performance: The Role of Innovation Capabilities and Host Country Institutions

“…Unlike market-seeking and natural resource-seeking motives that induce firms to go to countries with large markets and abundant natural resources regardless of the development level of the country, SAS firms are more likely to go to industrialized countries that are endowed with more knowledge assets and strong national innovation systems (De Beule and Duanmu 2012;Elia and Santangelo 2017;Zheng et al 2016). However, in these countries, EMNEs encounter daunting challenges such as the reluctance of the host firms to sell core competencies (Rugman 2010), and the differences in institutional frameworks and cultures between home and host countries, which result in the liability of foreignness (Pattnaik et al 2015;Zheng et al 2016).…”

“…Extant research has suggested that EMNE FDI is strongly motivated by strategic intent to achieve specific goals, such as acquiring strategic assets, securing supplies of natural resources, and achieving a superior market position (Cui and Jiang 2009;Deng 2009;Kang and Liu 2016;Kolstad and Wiig 2012). It is also clear that strategic asset seeking (SAS) intent has played a significant role in EMNEs' attempts to address their disadvantages in competing with their counterparts from developed countries (Cui et al 2014;Elia and Santangelo 2017;Meyer 2015;Nicholson and Salaber 2013). Previous research on strategic asset seeking FDI has primarily focused on the nature of the strategic intent (Deng 2009;Rui and Yip 2008); the antecedents and driving forces of SAS intent (Cui et al 2014;Yang et al 2014); and the influence of SAS intent on FDI strategies, such as ownership structure (Cui and Jiang 2009), entry mode (Elango and Pattnaik 2011;Madhok and Keyhani 2012), and location choice (Cui et al 2017).…”

“…An intent or a strategy cannot readily lead to a superior performance outcome unless the contingent conditions for the intent can be met (He et al 2015;Zajac et al 2000). For EMNEs, the SAS intent is generated by their need to gain access to intangible assets that are not available at home (Deng 2009;Elia and Santangelo 2017). The sophisticated markets for intangible assets such as technology and management know-how are mainly located in developed countries-where EMNEs face daunting challenges to operate given their embeddedness inherited from their home operations (Buckley et al 2016;Cuervo-Cazurra and Genc 2008).…”

Location, collocation and innovation by multinational enterprises: a research agenda

“…Strategic asset-seeking investments by MNEs are explained with the intent to tap into pockets of expertise in geographically distant locations in order to explore competence and technological opportunities complementary to the ones MNEs already own and/or enjoy in their home country context (Almeida 1996;Almeida and Phene 2004;Cantwell andSantangelo 1999, 2000;Phene and Almeida 2008). The growth of strategic-asset seeking investments by emerging multinationals in advanced countries (Elia and Santangelo 2017) and R&D offshoring from advanced countries to emerging economies (D' Agostino and Santangelo 2012), reveals that the mission of foreign subsidiaries goes beyond the exploitation of headquarter knowledge to include the exploration and absorption of knowledge developed in the host location (Cantwell and Mudambi 2005;Kuemmerle 1997). The different role of foreign subsidiaries also raises a plethora of issues related to intra-MNE structure, coordination and control in connection with knowledge transfer and sharing across space (Ambos, Ambos, and Schlegelmilch 2006;Minbaeva and Santangelo 2017;Noorderhaven and Harzing 2009;Rabbiosi and Santangelo 2013).…”

Chinese multinationals in Spain: Determinants of establishment mode choice

“…Some companies from emerging economies may use acquisitions in developed countries as a strategy to obtain intangible resources and capabilities within the field of technology, marketing and business management (Guillén and García-Canal 2009;Elia and Santangelo 2012;Yang et al 2014). When it comes to Chinese companies, acquisitions have not only been used by large oil, gas and mining companies to access raw materials and power resources; they have also been used by companies from other sectors as a fast way to access technology, R&D skills, and internationally renowned trademarks (Child and Rodrigues 2005).…”