Third-Party Market Cooperation and Non-Chinese Multinational Enterprises' Participation in the Belt and Road Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa

IF 3.2 Q3 BUSINESS

Thunderbird International Business Review Pub Date : 2025-06-29 DOI:10.1002/tie.70003

Philipp von Carlowitz, Simon Züfle

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Non-Chinese multinational enterprises (MNE) are wondering whether China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) creates challenges or opportunities for them. The fuzzy term “third-party market cooperation” was coined to involve non-Chinese MNEs in BRI-related business opportunities. Our contribution is threefold: First, we explore the role of non-Chinese firms in the BRI. Second, we locate “third-party market cooperation” in the international business literature and examine its originality. Third, we assess how non-Chinese MNEs can seize business potentials associated with third-party market cooperation in SSA. We conduct a qualitative analysis of official documents and substantiate our analysis by evaluating other media sources on third-party market cooperation projects in SSA. We find that firms play a decisive role in substantiating the BRI. The core novelty of third-party market cooperation is its strong political dimension, as governments may initiate and flank the participation of their MNEs in the BRI.

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撒哈拉以南非洲地区第三方市场合作与非中资跨国企业参与“一带一路”建设

非中国跨国企业（MNE）想知道中国在撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）的“一带一路”倡议（BRI）给他们带来了挑战还是机遇。“第三方市场合作”这个模糊的术语被创造出来，让非中国跨国公司参与到与一带一路相关的商业机会中来。我们的贡献有三个方面：第一，我们探讨了非中国企业在“一带一路”中的作用。其次，我们在国际商务文献中对“第三方市场合作”进行了定位，并考察了其独创性。第三，我们评估了非中国跨国公司如何抓住与SSA第三方市场合作相关的商业潜力。我们对官方文件进行定性分析，并通过对SSA第三方市场合作项目的其他媒体来源进行评估来证实我们的分析。我们发现，企业在“一带一路”建设中发挥着决定性作用。第三方市场合作的核心新颖之处在于其强大的政治维度，各国政府可以发起并支持本国跨国公司参与“一带一路”。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Thunderbird International Business Review BUSINESS-

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

9.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Thunderbird International Business Review is a peer-reviewed journal that is published six times a year in cooperation with the Thunderbird School of Global Business Management, the world"s leading institution in the education of global managers. The journal"s aim is to advance and disseminate research in the field of international business. Its main target audience includes academicians and executives in business and government who have an interest in international business.