Gerald Yong Gao

Assessing Measurement Invariance of Export Market Orientation: A Study of Chinese and Non-Chinese Firms in China

In response to numerous calls for the cross-cultural validation of measures used in international research, the authors assess measurement invariance of the export market orientation (EMO) and export performance (EP) constructs using 491 Chinese and non-Chinese export ventures in China. The results show that both the EMO and the EP scales are invariant between Chinese and non-Chinese export ventures. In addition, different EMO components have differential effects on EP for Chinese versus non-Chinese firms. To achieve higher EP, Chinese firms should focus on export intelligence responsiveness, and non-Chinese firms should concentrate their efforts on export intelligence generation. The authors discuss implications and suggest directions for further research.

State Ownership and Firm Innovation in China: An Integrated View of Institutional and Efficiency Logics

Using two longitudinal panel datasets of Chinese manufacturing firms, we assess whether state ownership benefits or impedes firms’ innovation. We show that state ownership in an emerging economy enables a firm to obtain crucial R&D resources but makes the firm less efficient in using those resources to generate innovation, and we find that a minority state ownership is an optimal structure for innovation development in this context. Moreover, the inefficiency of state ownership in transforming R&D input into innovation output decreases when industrial competition is high, as well as for start-up firms. Our findings integrate the efficiency logic (agency theory), which views state ownership as detrimental to innovation, and institutional logic, which notes that governments in emerging economies have critical influences on regulatory policies and control over scarce resources. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on state ownership and firm innovation in emerging economies.

Market Share Performance of Foreign and Domestic Brands in China

In this study, the authors examine market share performance of foreign and domestic brands in China. Drawing on the resource-based view and brand management literature, they investigate the impacts of three sets of factors: brands’ competitive advantages, external market environments, and the length of brand existence. The authors also examine the different influences of these factors on foreign versus domestic brands. The empirical testing is based on a survey of senior executives of 408 brands in 52 product categories in China. This study offers new findings on what drives the market share performance in transition economies.

Technological Capability Growth and Performance Outcome: Foreign Versus Local Firms in China

This study examines the growth and performance impact of technological capability (TC) in China. The authors posit that foreign and local firms exhibit different TC growth patterns and that TC has differential performance effects for these two types of firms. From a multilevel analysis of five-year panel data of 448 technology-oriented firms, they find that, in general, foreign firms possess higher levels of TC, whereas local firms can develop their TC faster than foreign firms. Furthermore, compared with foreign firms, local firms experience a stronger performance return from their TC; however, foreign firms have a higher growth rate in the contribution of TC to their performance over time. Moreover, firms can develop TC faster in regions with better intellectual property protection, and TC exerts a stronger effect on performance when industrial uncertainty is higher.

Foreign Market Entry Timing Revisited: Trade-Off Between Market Share Performance and Firm Survival

This study revisits the impact of entry timing on the performance of foreign-invested firms. The authors posit that balancing between market share performance and firm survival is critical for foreign firms to capitalize on early-mover advantages. Using a longitudinal data set of 25,513 foreign firms operating in China, the authors find that early entrants enjoy higher market shares but suffer from lower survival rates than late entrants. In addition, foreign firms’ entry mode and investment size affect their market shares and survival. The results also provide supporting evidence of the interaction effects among entry timing, entry mode, and investment size on foreign firms’ market shares and survival.

Relational Governance and Control Mechanisms of Export Ventures: An Examination Across Relationship Length

Relational governance and control mechanisms are important means of managing interfirm relationships. Yet, the effectiveness of different governance mechanisms remains equivocal, especially in the international context. In this study, the authors investigate the value of relational and control governance across relationship length. Using a survey of 217 export ventures from China, they find that relational governance is not effective for short-term relationships but that it becomes effective in the long run. Output control improves export performance across short- and long-term relationships, whereas process control has its limits and weakens export performance for short-term relationships. In addition, the findings show that relational governance positively moderates the effects of output and process control on export performance for long-term relationships.

Export relational governance and control mechanisms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and interaction effects of relational governance and two control mechanisms, output control and process control in the context of international exchange relationships. Cross-border exchange relationships receive growing attention in the literature. Yet extant research has mainly examined single governance mechanisms. Among the few studies that investigate the interaction effects of relational governance and control mechanisms, some believe that the two mechanisms have conflicting effects, whereas others argue that they are complementary in nature. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a sample of 184 Chinese export ventures, the empirical paper adopts the hierarchical moderated multiple regression approach. Findings – The authors find that relational governance contributes positively to export performance, while output control leads negatively to export performance. The findings further suggest that output control complements relational governa...