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La empresa española en China: Formas y barreras de entrada

The Spanish company in China: Entry forms and barriers to internationalization

Journal Name:

  • Intangible Capital

Publication Year:

  • 2016
DOI: 
http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/ic.694

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Author NameUniversity of Author
Abstract (2. Language): 
Purpose: The Chinese market is a sought-after investment destination for numerous companies across the world for their great sales potential. However, because of the complexity of the country, the investment should be made with caution. The choice of form of entry is one of the most crucial decisions that the company has to face when it decides to undertake an internationalization process. This paper aims, first, determine the form of entry used by Spanish companies in China and what factors have influenced the choice, and secondly, identify what are the entry barriers that they have been found. Design/methodology: To answer these questions interviews were held with managers or heads of the department involved in the internationalization process of fifteen Spanish companies from different economic sectors with direct investment in China. Findings: As a result, we found that implantation in China has been a sequential process for the following reasons: lack of market knowledge, compulsory investment with a local partner or gradual commitment of resources. Once the company decides to settle permanently, the form used is a subsidiary company, known in China as Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise. Regulatory and bureaucratic, cultural and language, competitive and risk of imitation, human resources and, finally, informal barriers have been identified by companies during their internationalization process in the Chinese market. Originality/value: More studies like this are needed for shed light to the internationalization process in this market for being so culturally different to Spanish and so unknown for not being the first destination of the Spanish company historically.
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Abstract (Original Language): 
Objeto: El mercado chino concentra las miradas de las empresas de todo el mundo por su gran potencial de ventas. No obstante, por la complejidad del país hay que realizar la inversión con cautela. La elección de la forma de entrada es una de las decisiones más cruciales que la empresa tiene que afrontar a la hora de invertir en un país extranjero. El presente trabajo pretende, por una parte, estudiar cuál es la forma de entrada más utilizada por las empresas para invertir en este país y en base a qué factores la han elegido y, por otra, identificar cuáles han sido las barreras de entrada a las que han tenido que hacer frente. Diseño/metodología/enfoque: Para contestar a estas preguntas se realizaron entrevistas con directivos y responsables del proceso de internacionalización de quince empresas españolas de diferentes sectores económicos con inversión directa en China. Aportaciones y resultados: Como resultado, encontramos que la implantación en China ha sido un proceso secuencial en la mayoría de casos estudiados por los siguientes motivos: falta de conocimiento del mercado, obligatoriedad de invertir con un socio local o implicación paulatina de recursos. Una vez la empresa decide establecerse permanentemente en China, la figura más empleada es la empresa propia o Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise. Barreras regulatorias y burocráticas, culturales e idiomáticas, competitivas y de riesgo de imitación, los recursos humanos y, por último, barreras informales han sido las identificadas por las empresas durante su proceso de internacionalización en el mercado chino.Originalidad / Valor añadido: Se necesitan estudios como éste que arrojen luz al proceso de internacionalización en China por ser un mercado tan diferente culturalmente al español y tan desconocido por no haber sido el primer destino de la empresa española históricamente.
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