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How Do SMEs Face Institutional Challenges in China?

Noémie Dominguez (University of Lyon, France)

Ulrike Mayrhofer (Université Côte d’Azur, France)

The Multiple Dimensions of Institutional Complexity in International Business Research

ISBN: 978-1-80043-245-1, eISBN: 978-1-80043-244-4

Publication date: 4 March 2021

Abstract

This chapter examines how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can deal with institutional challenges in the Chinese market. The authors use institutional theory to characterize the political and cultural context in China. The empirical study is based on interviews conducted with managers of the industrial SME Mixel Agitators at the French headquarters and the Chinese subsidiary, and with experts on Franco–Chinese relationships. The findings show that foreign SMEs can address institutional challenges by investing time and resources in their local subsidiaries, learning about how to operate in the Chinese market, and recruiting local managers with guanxi networks. The study contributes to a better understanding of how Western SMEs can succeed in the Chinese context.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

This research has received the financial support of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region within the program “Support to International University and Scientific Cooperation.”

Citation

Dominguez, N. and Mayrhofer, U. (2021), "How Do SMEs Face Institutional Challenges in China?", Verbeke, A., van Tulder, R., Rose, E.L. and Wei, Y. (Ed.) The Multiple Dimensions of Institutional Complexity in International Business Research (Progress in International Business Research, Vol. 15), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 287-296. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-886220210000015016

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited