The Impact of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on Competitiveness, Bribery, and Investment

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-126
Author(s):  
Maria Arbatskaya ◽  
Hugo M Mialon

Abstract The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits U.S.-related firms from making bribes abroad. We analyze the FCPA’s effects in a model of competition between a U.S. and foreign firm for contracts in a host country. If the FCPA only applies to the U.S. firm, it reduces that firm’s competitiveness and either increases bribery by the foreign firm or reduces overall investment. If the FCPA also applies to foreign firms, it reduces total bribery, and in host countries with high corruption levels, it increases total investment. The model suggests that the FCPA will deter bribery and stimulate investment while not disadvantaging U.S. firms if its enforcement is aimed at firms who engaged in bribery in highly corrupt countries and whose main competitors are also subject to the FCPA.

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuping Zeng ◽  
Dean Xu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between a foreign firm’s likelihood to exit a host country and the population density of foreign firms in its industry in that county, as well as the moderating influences of this relationship. The authors hypothesize that a foreign firm’s likelihood to exit has a U-shaped relationship with foreign firms’ population density in the industry and this relationship will be weakened when: the foreign firm is located in a region where foreign firm presence is high; the foreign firm is in an industry that has a longer history of foreign direct investment; the firm has a longer tenure in the host country; and the firm is more adapted to the market and institutional environments of the host country. Design/methodology/approach The authors test the hypotheses using a data set containing over 45,000 foreign firms in China between 1998 and 2007. Findings The results show that the exit likelihood of a foreign firm has a U-shaped relationship with foreign firms’ population density in the firm’s industry in the host country. Furthermore, this relationship is moderated by the population density of foreign firms in the region where the firm resides, the length of time since the first foreign entrant in the industry and the extent of the focal firm’s local adaptation. Originality/value The study contributes to organizational ecology theory and the international business literature by extending the density-dependence model to the study of foreign firm survival/exit. Whereas a foreign firm’s fate in the host country is heavily influenced by the population density of foreign firms in its industry, it can borrow legitimacy from other sources, or try to create legitimacy through its own actions, to reduce the impact of such density effects.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shilin Yuan ◽  
Haiyang Chen ◽  
Wei Zhang

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of host country corruption on foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to developing countries in Africa. With the opposing arguments that corruption is detrimental to or instrumental in FDI and mixed empirical evidence, this paper contributes to the literature by providing new evidence on the issue. Additionally, little research has been done on the impact of corruption on FDI made by developing country multinationals to developing countries. This paper fills a void in this area. Design/methodology/approach Based on the published literature, as well as China and Africa contexts, the authors develop hypotheses that host countries with low corruption receive more FDI and resource-seeking investments weaken the relationship. The annual stock of Chinese FDI in 35 African countries, host country corruption data and other control variables from 2007 to 2015 are collected. Feasible generalized least squares models are used to test the hypotheses. Additional robustness tests are also conducted. Findings The findings support the hypotheses. Specifically, Chinese investors make more investments in host countries with low corruption except for resource-seeking investments in resource-rich host counties. The results are statistically significant accounting for various control variables. The results of the robustness tests show that the main findings are robust. Originality/value First, this study provides new evidence on the impact of corruption on FDI. Second, this study also fills a void by examining FDI from a developing country, China to other developing countries in Africa. Finally, this study also has a practical implication for Chinese multinationals investing in Africa.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Chan Bok Kim ◽  
Seong-Jin Choi ◽  
Luyao Zhang

This paper investigates how cultural distance, the local experience of a foreign subsidiary, and the intensity of local competition jointly affect the staff localization of MNEs’ subsidiaries. While previous studies on the effects of cultural distance have mainly focused on the gap between home and host countries, we extend the existing “home-host” country perspective to the home-intermediary-host country relationship. This study regards Korea as an intermediary country and utilizes 520 observations from a unique survey conducted by the Export-Import Bank of Korea from 2006 to 2013. The results suggest that the impact of cultural distance on staff localization is a function of local experience and competitive environment in the home-intermediate-host relationship structure. This paper makes a theoretical contribution to our understanding of the behavior of multinational corporations by expanding the cultural distance perspective between the home and host countries explored in previous research to the home-subsidiary-subsidiary structure.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rehanna Callaghan

<p>This study investigates the impact of protectionism in a host country on the completion likelihood of an announced cross-border acquisition and the time required to complete the acquisition. Adopting a legitimacy perspective, I identify and test boundary conditions at the firm and national levels to study the relationship between protectionism and cross-border acquisition completion and duration. I hypothesise that in host countries with a high level of protectionism, as reflected by the level of non-tariff barriers, cross-border acquisitions are less likely to be completed and the time taken to close the acquisition deal increases. I also propose that the relationships between protectionism and acquisition outcomes are moderated by critical target firm characteristics and the host country's economic condition. Specifically, these moderators include target firm size, target firm performance, the degree to which the target industry is sensitive to national security concerns, and the host country's GDP growth. I test these hypotheses using a sample of 675 cross-border acquisition attempts by firms in the manufacturing and services industries (excluding financial services) into the U.S. and Canada between 1995 and 2015. The results of the statistical analysis support the prediction that the higher the degree of protectionism, the lower likelihood of acquisition completion and the longer the duration is between acquisition announcement and completion. Findings also support the predicted moderating effects of the target firm size, performance and national security concern. However, the hypothesised moderating effect of the host country's GDP growth was not supported by the results. This finding suggests that host country protectionism impacts cross-border acquisition attempts, irrespective of the host country's economic development. These findings have significant implications for legitimacy-based explanations of cross-border acquisitions. In particular, the results of this study indicate that when protectionism is high, the host country is more likely to raise concerns around the legitimacy of foreign firms. In turn, these firms face adverse host country scrutiny which can result in a failed acquisition attempt, or an extended and therefore, costlier acquisition deal. The framework and findings of this study contribute to an institution-based view and, in particular, to a legitimacy-based perspective in the research on the internationalisation of firms.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rehanna Callaghan

<p>This study investigates the impact of protectionism in a host country on the completion likelihood of an announced cross-border acquisition and the time required to complete the acquisition. Adopting a legitimacy perspective, I identify and test boundary conditions at the firm and national levels to study the relationship between protectionism and cross-border acquisition completion and duration. I hypothesise that in host countries with a high level of protectionism, as reflected by the level of non-tariff barriers, cross-border acquisitions are less likely to be completed and the time taken to close the acquisition deal increases. I also propose that the relationships between protectionism and acquisition outcomes are moderated by critical target firm characteristics and the host country's economic condition. Specifically, these moderators include target firm size, target firm performance, the degree to which the target industry is sensitive to national security concerns, and the host country's GDP growth. I test these hypotheses using a sample of 675 cross-border acquisition attempts by firms in the manufacturing and services industries (excluding financial services) into the U.S. and Canada between 1995 and 2015. The results of the statistical analysis support the prediction that the higher the degree of protectionism, the lower likelihood of acquisition completion and the longer the duration is between acquisition announcement and completion. Findings also support the predicted moderating effects of the target firm size, performance and national security concern. However, the hypothesised moderating effect of the host country's GDP growth was not supported by the results. This finding suggests that host country protectionism impacts cross-border acquisition attempts, irrespective of the host country's economic development. These findings have significant implications for legitimacy-based explanations of cross-border acquisitions. In particular, the results of this study indicate that when protectionism is high, the host country is more likely to raise concerns around the legitimacy of foreign firms. In turn, these firms face adverse host country scrutiny which can result in a failed acquisition attempt, or an extended and therefore, costlier acquisition deal. The framework and findings of this study contribute to an institution-based view and, in particular, to a legitimacy-based perspective in the research on the internationalisation of firms.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Son Tung Ha ◽  
Tuan Vu Chu ◽  
Thi Tuyet Mai Nguyen ◽  
Thi Hoai Dung Nguyen ◽  
Thi Ngoc Anh Nguyen

Abstract The FDI-entrepreneurship nexus has received growing attention over the last decade. However, the empirical findings on their relationship have been inconsistent at best. This study seeks to examine how the inflows of Greenfield investment influence entrepreneurship of the host country. Using panel data from 110 countries during the period 2001-2018, we find that growing level of Greenfield investment brings detrimental impact on the level of total and opportunity-driven entrepreneurial activities in the host countries while the impact on necessity-driven entrepreneurship have been mixed. The results regarding the impact of Greenfield investment on total entrepreneurial activities and opportunity-based entrepreneurial activities are robust across different econometric settings, different time span and different categories of control variables.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-263
Author(s):  
Chensheng Xu ◽  
Feng Yao ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Yonghong Wang

Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of the Confucius Institute (CI) on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by China and its potential interaction with cultural difference and institutional quality in host countries. Design/methodology/approach In the empirical study, the gravity model is adopted as the benchmark to investigate the effects of CI on China's OFDI using the ordinary least squares or Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood estimators. Panel data on China's OFDI from 2004 to 2015 are used. Cultural difference and institutional quality are included explicitly as control variables to examine the effects of CI on China's OFDI. Findings CI has a significant positive effect on China’s OFDI, and this effect depends on the cultural difference and institutional quality of the host country. The impact of CI on China’s OFDI is more prominent in host countries with a smaller cultural difference or lower institutional quality. Originality/value CI is a comprehensive platform for foreign cultural exchange and signifies the rebirth of Confucianism in China. The present study shows that CI can stimulate the growth of China’s OFDI, with implications for other Asian countries influenced by Confucianism. Based on the results of the study, strategies for “Going Global” and encouraging economic growth based on cultural exchange and the recognition of host country heterogeneities are proposed.


Author(s):  
Patrick J. W. Egan

This chapter moves beyond firm level attributes and economic motivations to consider the impact of host country institutions on investment models of multinationals in developing countries. It adopts a comparative institutionalist perspective, and utilizes country and firm level variables to measure governance. These measures are then employed to predict innovation outcomes. This chapter demonstrates that host country institutions affect the likelihood of local innovation taking place, and its intensity. A variety of measures of institutional coherence are developed, and address such diverse concepts as intellectual property protection, corruption, democracy, and bureaucratic quality. In addition, firm surveys are used to convey firm perceptions of institutional quality in host countries. The chapter includes a discussion of the literature on firm entry modes, and considers how other host country attributes, such as education and human capital, may influence innovation outcomes alongside institutions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinmay Pattnaik ◽  
SoonKyoo Choe ◽  
Deeksha Singh

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of quality of market supporting institutions (institutional quality) in host country and the similarities and differences of institutional quality between the home and host country (institutional distance) on subsidiary performance. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the conceptualization of new institutional economics, the authors divide quality of host country institutions into factor markets; product, capital, labor market and sociopolitical dimensions. The authors examine the impact of the quality these institutional dimensions in host countries and their difference between home and host country on the performance of 318 subsidiaries of 146 Korean listed manufacturing firms operating in 28 host countries from 2001 to 2006. Findings – The empirical results based on 1,129 observations show that institutional distance explains a significant variance in the subsidiary performance. In particular, the difference in quality of institutions in product, capital and labor market has negative impact on subsidiary performance. However, except for quality of regulation in labor market, host country institutional qualities do not significantly explain the variation in subsidiary performance. Originality/value – The evidence suggests that host country institutions matter substantially when considered with their relative similarity and difference with home country institutions. The impact of individual dimensions of institutions varies on subsidiary performance.


AJIL Unbound ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 113 ◽  
pp. 320-325
Author(s):  
Guillermo Jorge

Most Latin American countries are in the process of implementing international anticorruption standards, including standards for combating corporate corruption. Primarily based on the U.S. experience with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), these international standards for combating corporate corruption are coalescing into a standardized paradigm, which requires states to establish corporate liability regimes that incentivize companies to prevent, self-police, and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in exchange for more lenient sanctions.


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