2021 Academy of International Business (AIB) UKI Conference: MNC Strategy – From Constraints to Co-evolution: Strategic Choice, Environment, Resources and Firm-Institutional Interaction as Determinants of Firm Performance in Emerging Markets – Empirical Evidence from Multinational Corporations in China

Conference paper on MNC strategy with a focus on strategic choice, firm-institutional interaction and corresponding firm performance outcomes in emerging markets (China) against the background of and accelerated convergence of the IB strategy and institutionalism as well as increasing public scrutiny (and scepticism) towards the international enterprise as well a need for MNC’s to adopt a different mindset (i.e. from constraints to co-evolution). The research utilizes typology-driven theorizing based on (1) Miles and Snow’s (1978) enduring strategic typology, (2) Oliver’s (1991) strategic responses to institutional processes and a novel response based on (3) Child et al.’s (2012) notion on co-evolution. It is a response to Snow and Ketchen’s (2014) AMR call for action to empirically evaluate typologies for their current relevance. The research contributes to theory (disentangle the relationship between generic strategy and institutional strategies; advance the notion of institution-oriented strategic choice in IB strategy), adds to the empirical base and makes a managerial contribution.