Emerging economy multinational enterprises’ acquisitions in developed countries and capability upgrading in their acquired firms: a multiple case study in the UK” (funded by Leverhulme/British Academy Small Research Grant.
Led by Dr. Shaowei He, this project leverage two cases of recent Chinese acquisition in the United Kingdom to explore the upgrading of capabilities in the subsidiaries in developed countries acquired by emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs). The seemingly implausible upgrading phenomenon is explained by the EMNEs’ complementary assets, their GVC lead firm positions and the unique power relationship between the acquirer and acquired firms, which enable the EMNEs to ‘impel’ upgrading and encourage ‘co-learning’ in their acquired subsidiaries.
Publications:
- He, S., Khan, Z. and Shenkar, O. (2018) Subsidiary capability upgrading under emerging market acquirers. Journal of World Business
- He, S. and Khan, Z. (2017) Boarding the high-speed train of China – the upgrading journey of a British engineering firm after being acquired by a Chinese train company. In: Drahokoupil, J. (ed.) Chinese investment in Europe: Corporate Strategies and Labour Relations. Brussels: ETUI. pp. 199-209.
