September 18, 2018. Shanghai – The latest cutting-edge research on business practices related to emerging markets was the focus of discussions today at the 3^rd Annual CEIBS Strategy and Entrepreneurship Symposium held today at CEIBS’ Shanghai campus. Organised by the school’s Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, the event provided a valuable opportunity for leading international scholars to come together and share insights and research and to generate new ideas related to the broad theme of emerging markets.

In his welcome remarks, CEIBS Vice President and Co-Dean Professor Zhang Weijiong noted the important role that department symposiums play in enhancing the position of CEIBS as a leading international business school in research and business. He also mentioned that two other important events occurring in China at the same time – the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” meeting and the World Artificial Intelligence Conference – highlighted the importance of politics and technology, respectively, for businesses in emerging markets.

Internationalisation of Emerging Market Firms was the theme of the first session. Professor Xie Xuanli of Peking University discussed how state-owned MNCs cross-border M&As may be driven by SOE managers’ career promotion goals. Professor Vikas Kumar of Sydney University argued that multinationals from emerging markets represent a paradox in that, unlike traditional MNCs that internationalise because they are entrepreneurial, they become entrepreneurial because they internationalise. The session’s last speaker, CEIBS Professor of Management Jane Lu, presented her findings on the effects of political turnover on cross-border acquisitions of Chinese firms.

In the second session, which focused on Strategy in Emerging Markets, Professor Kenneth Huang of the National University of Singapore shared research findings on transnational patents and signalling from emerging to advanced markets, presenting rare empirical findings on reverse innovation. Ajai Gaur of Rutgers Business School discussed his work on performance feedback and CEO regulatory focus on the direction of search. Finally, CEIBS Professor of Entrepreneurship S. Ramakrishna Velamuri presented his findings from an in-depth qualitative study of SME corporate entrepreneurship in a small emerging economy; specifically, in Ghana, where CEIBS has a campus.

Shareholders, Strategic Competition, and Performance Outcomes was the theme of the third session. CEIBS Professor Zhang Yu presented his work on the impact of multiple large shareholders on their monitoring effectiveness. Professor Qiang Li of HKUST presented a study of the effects of CEO dismissal on the behaviors of competing firms. Professor Changhyun Park of NUS discussed his work on the long term effects of dedicated ownership by institutional investors.

The theme of the fourth and final session was Political Context in Emerging Markets. In his presentation, Professor Krislert Samphantharak discussed his future work on the network structure of business groups. Professor Christina Ahmadjian of Hitotsubashi University presented her research comparing the role of the state, investors, and big business in corporate governance reform in Japan and South Korea. Professor Richard Carney provided evidence that CSR activities will be lower for firms located in non-competitive authoritarian regimes in comparison with firms located in semi-competitive authoritarian regimes, and that both will be lower than for firms located in democracies.

All in all, the audience which primarily included scholars from universities in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, found the research presentations stimulating and engaged in a lively Q&A session with each of the authors. The department greatly appreciates the contributions of the presenting authors and the participation of the audience.