A comparative analysis of the liability of foreignness of Chinese firms operating in Australia

This study investigates the factors that contribute to the liability of foreignness that Chinese firms incur and how Chinese firms’ capabilities help them to manage such liabilities. The author argues that multinational enterprises from emerging markets (EMNEs) operating in developed markets suffer from both context-free and context-specific liabilities. Data will be collected from subsidiary senior managers of 230 Chinese multinational enterprises. By using Chinese investment predominantly in Australia as an empirical setting, complementing with the evidences of Chinese investment in other major developed economies, such as the United States and Europe, thus the study explains the research question. The controversies that accompanied the rise of Chinese investment into Australia have been mirrored in many other developed economies. The rising prominence of emerging economies, including China, as a leading outward investment nation, warrants a need to explore this issue in-depth in the near future. Australia provides an ideal context to discover new theoretical insights based on a new conceptual framework. From a practical perspective, this study is of interest to Australia and China. Given the strategic important economic relationship between two nations, a good understanding the research questions can potentially determine long-term global success for both countries. A review of literature suggests that only a small handful of articles and case studies focus on Chinese investment in Australia. There are no preliminary results yet at this stage.