Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investments and Innovation

Pursuing the “Go Global” strategy launched in 1999, China has recently become one of the major outbound investors worldwide. In the first stage, Chinese outward foreign direct investments (OFDIs) were directed to developing countries, mainly driven by resource-seeking motives; afterward, they started targeting advanced economies, searching for new markets and new technologies. This chapter provides some descriptive evidence of dynamic trends and spatial/sectoral distribution of the Chinese OFDIs that are more likely to affect investors’ innovation capabilities: greenfield investments in research and development activities and cross-border acquisitions of medium-high-tech companies located in technologically advanced countries. Moreover, it discusses the impact of such OFDIs by providing a critical review of the existing literature about the moderating factors that enhance the chances of positive outcomes and the learning mechanisms though which investors source new knowledge from foreign subsidiaries. It concludes with suggestions for future research.

Regional Policy and Greenfield Investments in German Districts

Using data on greenfield investment in German districts from 2003 to 2010, we examine how regional development policies affect the decision of multinational corporations to locate facilities in Germany. We are interested in whether regional development policies accumulate to increase the attractiveness of a region and whether some policies are necessary to attract foreign investors. Applying count data models and geographic weighted regression, the results indicate that, on average, regional development policies increase the attractiveness of German districts for multinational firms. We find that place-based policies have the strongest effect on investments in the East German lagging regions. However, policies predominantly attract standardised types of investments that require considerable capital investments but not specialised location advantages.

The impact of differences in internationalization processes on innovation by emerging economy firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the differences in the internationalization process of firms from emerging economies and the impact of their international expansion related choices on the nature of technological innovations developed by these firms. Specifically, the authors compare two principal perspectives on internationalization – the incremental internationalization process (slow, gradually increasing commitments using greenfield investments to similar host countries) and the springboard perspective (aggressive, rapidly increasing commitments using mergers and acquisitions to advanced host countries).Design/methodology/approachBuilding on key differences between the incremental internationalization and springboard perspectives, the authors argue that differences in the speed and mode of entry, as well as the interaction between the mode of entry and location of internationalization, will lead to differences in the types of technologies (mature versus novel) developed by emerging economy firms. The authors examine the hypotheses using panel data from 1997 to 2013 on emerging economy multinationals (EMNEs) from the Indian bio-pharmaceutical industry.FindingsThe findings suggest that firms internationalizing at higher speeds and using cross-border M&As tend to have innovations in mature technologies. The interesting findings can be explained by the challenges faced by emerging economy firms in experiential learning and the assimilation of external knowledge. In addition, the authors find that internationalization to technologically advanced countries weakens the relationship between cross-border M&As and innovation in mature technologies, suggesting that direct learning from technologically advanced environments may help alleviate the assimilation challenges of cross-border M&As.Originality/valueThe authors advance literature on EMNE internationalization by comparing the impact of their choice of internationalization approaches (incremental internationalization or springboard approach) on their innovation performance. The authors contribute to literature on EMNEs that has focused on the determinants of internationalization by identifying the learning implications of internationalization. The authors contribute to the nascent stream of literature on the level of innovation and catching up by EMNEs by performing a fine-grained analysis of the nature of technology innovation.

Structural Analysis of Inward Foreign Direct Investment in Latvia

The aim of this article is to investigate the activity of foreign direct investors in Latvia and find out what is the main source of financing for foreign investors – new investments or reinvested earnings.In order to achieve the set goal and test the hypothesis, the methodology of Sixth Edition of the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual was used to define the types of foreign direct investment. This methodology was adapted to Latvian data. At the request of the author, Ltd Lursoft IT selected business data on all registered companies with foreign capital in Latvia since 2005 and aggregate data were used in the analysis.Foreign direct investment in Latvia flows mainly in the form of reinvested earnings, due to the profit earned from operating activities in Latvia. While new investments or greenfield investments in equity is lower compared to the amount of reinvested earnings. The results of the study reflect the business results of foreign direct investors in Latvia, as well as their actions in relation to the earned profit from operating activities. These results could be used by the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia to improve Latvia’s investment environment and im¬plement a more effective investment attraction strategy.

Techno-Economic Assessment of Coal-Fired Power Unit Decarbonization Retrofit with KP-FHR Small Modular Reactors

The near and mid-term future of the existing Polish coal-fired power fleet is uncertain. The longer-term operation of unabated coal power is incompatible with climate policy and is economically challenging because of the increasing price of CO2 emission allowances in the EU. The results of the techno-economic analysis presented in this paper indicate that the retrofit of existing coal-fired units, by means of replacing coal-fired boilers with small modular reactors, may be an interesting option for the Polish energy sector. It has been shown that the retrofit can reduce the costs in relation to greenfield investments by as much as 35%. This analysis focuses on the repowering of a 460 MW supercritical coal-fired unit based on the Łagisza power plant design with high temperature small modular nuclear reactors based on the 320 MWth unit design by Kairos Power. The technical analyses did not show any major difficulties in integrating. The economic analyses show that the proposed retrofits can be economically justified, and, in this respect, they are more advantageous than greenfield investments. For the base economic scenario, the difference in NPV (Net Present Value) is more favorable for the retrofit by 556.9 M€ and the discounted payback period for this pathway is 10 years.

Multinational energy utilities in the energy transition: A configurational study of the drivers of FDI in renewables

The global energy system has a long way to go to meet international climate goals, and significant investment in renewable energy is required to accelerate the energy transition (IRENA, 2016, 2019). We examine how firm- and country-specific conditions in the electric utility sector impact foreign direct investment (FDI) in renewables. Using a unique dataset of 289 greenfield investments by 17 multinational energy utilities, we employ a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) that yields five causal configurations leading to FDI in renewables and four configurations leading to investment in non-renewables. Our results indicate that private MNEs are at the forefront of investment in renewables, and while state-owned MNEs (SOMNEs) do invest in them, they tend to follow strategies that are less risky compared to private MNEs and more responsive to host-country incentives. Our analysis suggests that for private MNEs, international experience is strongly associated with investment in renewables, while for SOMNEs it is associated with investment in non-renewables. Further, we also identify instances where MNEs contribute simultaneously to a ‘race to the top’ and a ‘race to the bottom’ by investing in both renewables and non-renewables in different markets, thereby reducing the pace of the energy transition.

Greenfield investments as a form of investing in the Serbian economy

The starting point of the research is to answer the question of whether Green-field investments as a form of investment stimulate Serbia's economic development. The greatest attention is focused on analysis, comparative analysis, statistical analysis, collecting quantitative, qualitative, chronological data and deduction methods. Survey results show that Greenfield investment in the services sector does not bring economic growth and development in the long run. Only Greenfield investments that are invested in the processing sector, and those export-oriented Greenfield companies, can have a positive impact on the economic development of the economy. To attract Greenfield investments, the external environment needs to be improved. The ease and ease of doing business is a positive signal for attracting more investment. Serbia still applies as a country with high corruption, low levels of rules of law, and high levels of administrative procedures, which create a serious barrier to attracting Greenfield investment.

Local impacts of large greenfield investments: the example of the Volkswagen car production plant in Września, Poland

Large investments can have significant impacts on local development, as illustrated by the conceptsof the multiplier effect and corporate social responsibility. The subject in this paper is the Volkswagen -Crafter car production plant opened in 2016 in Białężyce near Września (Wielkopolskie Voivodeship in Poland), one of the largest greenfield investments in western Poland since 1990. On the basis of the data obtained from company representatives and local governments, the numerous benefits for local residents and the natural environment resulting from the investment and actions undertaken at Volkswagen have been described. Questionnaires among residents have shown that the main benefits of the plant are the creation of new jobs, new municipal and infrastructure investments, an increase in Września’s prestige, an increase in service sector activity as well as housing for new inhabitants and start-up companies cooperating with Volkswagen. The recognition and reliability of Volkswagen as an employer and large enterprise (along with other factors, e.g. discounts on cars for employees) influence the above -average sales of Volkswagen in Września Poviat.