For Chinese firms, gaining patents for innovations may be a promising way to gain influence in the international arena, according to HKUST’s Jiatao Li and a co-researcher. Such patents act as a powerful signal of technological quality and market potential for U.S. firms who seek to introduce such innovations at home. This research offers novel insights into ... Read More

We have entered a new phase of business dominated by digital platforms, i.e. platforms that have a modular architecture and provide interface that facilitates multilateral transactions and exchanges among users and providers of complementary products and services (i.e., complementors). This platform-centric ecosystem allows enterprise to exploit ecosystem ... Read More

Recently, the amount of outward foreign direct investment from emerging economies has been growing at a rapid pace, with numerous state-owned enterprises (SOEs) being part of the process. State ownership affects not only the resources a company can access and its motivations, it also impacts its opaqueness, i.e., the unavailability of credible, firm-level ... Read More

To drive globalization, the Belt and Road Initiative must establish a narrative that inspires stakeholders in China and beyond. By Chair Professor Jiatao LI, Lee Quo Wei Professor of Business, Department of Management at HKUST Business School The world is at a crossroads. Globalization — the deepening integration of economies and markets — is facing a ... Read More

For multinational enterprises (MNEs), expanding internationally into untapped markets can be costly. Promisingly, however, such expansion also offers opportunities to gain competitive advantages. Such opportunities have been neglected in international business research to date—a gap that HKUST’s Professor Jiatao Li and a colleague set out to fill. Building ... Read More

Overconfidence among top managers may be “instrumental” to firm innovation, according to a pioneering new study of more than 6,000 U.S. and Chinese companies. Given the crucial role played by executives in every aspect of business operations, it is little wonder that their personalities affect firms’ decisions and performance. However, researchers have ... Read More

Exporting plays a significant role in the development of a firm, as can provide an opportunity to access knowledge from other sources, which can facilitate organizational learning. As such, governments in emerging markets (EMs) encourage exporting, as it is considered a key indicator of firms’ technological sophistication. That said, EM exporters often ... Read More

“The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese”; this quote, attributed to comedian Steven Wright and an extension on an old proverb, neatly applies to the experience of firms attempting to enter new overseas markets. Early entrants are at a disadvantage as their inexperience leads to mistakes and even failure; but can later entrants ... Read More

Company X from the United States is considering investing in China, and managers’ first move is to observe the choices made by other overseas firms already in the country. After studying patterns of behavior, they can then set out to learn the technologies, organizational forms and managerial practices that have worked for the incumbents. In this scenario ... Read More

Non-performing loans have been a widespread problem both in developed and developing countries. One of the most striking examples came from China, where they accounted for 35 per cent of state-owned bank loans in 1999. What is the best way to deal with such a problem? The conventional approach has been to focus on creditors and their inadequacies in such ... Read More