Cross-border trading relationships and intangible asset investment

Topic:

Cross-border trading relationships and intangible asset investment

Time&Date: 

 10:30 am -12:00 pm, 2019/11/20 (Wednesday)

Venue:

 Room 619, Teaching A

Speaker:

Prof. MA Xufei (City University of Hong Kong)

Abstract:

Partnerships between firms from high-status countries and those from low-status countries are prevalent in international business. However, we know relatively little about the strategic implications of such a status differential. In this study, we theorize that status anxiety—defined as concerns about not being a good match for partners from foreign high-status countries and being doubted for their compatibility by audiences—motivate partners from low-status countries to close the gap by increasing their R&Dinvestments. This response to status anxiety is expected to weaken with heightened competition from market participants headquartered in high-status countries as status anxiety gives way to fears oversurvival. An analysis with a large and longitudinal panel of Chinese firms in manufacturing sectors that imported/exported products from/to foreign firms based in economically higher-status countries renders strong support to our predictions. Overall, our logic of relieving status anxiety extends and enriches international business research on inter-firm relationships.