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Enterprise localization practices and their implication for knowledge management in foreign participation in the Chinese construction sector
Foreign firms active in the Chinese construction industry find themselves in a competitive environment unlike the environments in which they operate back home. Adaptations are therefore required in order that firms retain competitive leverage while integrating into the circumstances of the Chinese market. Since these firms primarily compete on superior knowledge capabilities it is instructive to understand how adaptations both serve to transfer propriety capabilities to China while adapting to the knowledge characteristics of the Chinese market into which those capabilities are transplanted. Five localizing parameters across which adaptations take place are identified in this paper and rates of localization are tabulated for 60 foreign firms active in the Chinese construction industry. Revealed localizing behaviors are then analyzed in the light of existing literature for explanatory power. It is concluded that in order to be strategically competitive firms must not only retain knowledge differentials, but that the knowledge must be coded and disseminated in a manner suited to the environment in which it is to be utilized.
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Journal
Journal of management in engineeringVolume
31Issue
6Season
Article Number : 05014024Article number
05014024Pagination
1 - 13Publisher
American Society of Civil EngineersLocation
Reston, Va.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0742-597XeISSN
1943-5479Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, American Society of Civil EngineersUsage metrics
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LocalizationForeign enterprisesConstruction industryChinaStrategyInternationalizationKnowledge managementScience & TechnologyTechnologyEngineering, IndustrialEngineering, CivilEngineeringWHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARIESJOINT VENTURESVERTICAL INTEGRATIONDIRECT-INVESTMENTPERFORMANCECAPABILITYPROJECTSFIRMSCONSULTANCY
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