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Globalization of Chinese Firms Theoretical Universalism or Particularism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Ilan Alon ,
John Child ,
Shaomin Li  and
John R. McIntyre
Ilan Alon
Affiliation:
Rollins College, USA
John Child
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham, UK
Shaomin Li
Affiliation:
Old Dominion University, USA
John R. McIntyre
Affiliation:
Georgia institute of Technology, USA
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Abstract

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Research on the globalization of Chinese and other emerging markets' companies has only just begun and is on the verge of taking off. As it does so, additional thought should be given to the ontological and epistemological underpinnings of the theories attempting to capture the phenomenon. Should Western-centric theory prevail? Be adapted? Or abandoned in favour of new indigenous approaches to theorizing, based on context? Finally, should the context itself be the basis of theorizing? While the debate will not stop here, the future may hold a multiplicity of approaches, both indigenous and internationalized, for explaining emerging markets' contexts and, more specifically, for understanding internationalization of their economies and their multinationals. This article provides an overview of the debate on Chinese Theory of Business vs. Theory of Chinese Business, and highlights the contribution of three key articles utilizing a hybrid approach of adapted theory, controlling for the various multinational contexts. We conclude that no theory has a monopoly on explanation and a multi-levelj multidisciplinaiy, and, perhaps, Eastern-centric theory may prove to show great potential in future theories of emerging markets' multinationals.

Keywords

Chinese firmsemerging marketsglobalizationindigenous approachesinternationalizationmultinational corporations中国公司的国际化全球化理论本土方法认识论和本体论新兴市场的跨国公司
Type
From the Guest Editors
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , July 2011 , pp. 191 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2011

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