What Motivates Emerging Economy Firms to Internationalize? A Replication and Extension of Ahsan et al. (2020) in the Context of China

ABSTRACT Ahsan, Sinha, and Srinivasan (2020) studied the motives of knowledge-intensive Indian firms’ international expansion based on resource-based considerations and the locational advantages offered by host countries. They identified firm characteristics associated with strategic asset-seeking, opportunity-seeking, and market-seeking motives. In this replication study, we examine Ahsan et al.'s (2020) model in the Chinese context. Based on our improved empirical model, our findings reveal some similarities but more importantly some key differences in the antecedents of internationalization motives between Indian and Chinese firms. Drawing on insights from prior studies, we propose that these differences can be attributed to differences in absorptive capacity, international expansion scales and patterns, ownership type, and the home institutional contexts in which Indian and Chinese firms operate. Overall, this replication study demonstrates the importance of contextualizing international business research. 摘要 Ahsan, Sinha, and Srinivasan (2020)研究了印度知识密集型企业基于资源考虑和东道国区位优势的国际化扩张动机。他们识别了与寻求战略资产、寻求机会和寻求市场动机相关的企业特征。我们在中国的情境下重复了Ahsan等（2020）的研究，并在此基础上改进了其实证研究模型。本文揭示了印度企业和中国企业具有相似的国际化动机，但也存在着关键的差异：主要表现在吸收能力、国际化扩张的规模和模式、所有制类型以及印度和中国企业经营所面临的国内制度环境。总的来说，这项重复研究表明了国际商务研究情境化的重要性。