The Rise of Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises and the flow of Outward Investment from Emerging Economies in the form of Acquisitions and Greenfield Investment.

The PhD Scholarship in the Rise of Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises is open to UK, EU and international fee rated applicants. The award is available to support full-time PhD study commencing on 1st February 2018. The scholarship holder will be registered in the International Business division of Leeds University Business School.

Number of awards: 1

Value of award: tuition fees at the relevant UK/EU or international rate and a maintenance grant of £14,553* per annum (*subject to approval and change). There are no additional allowances for travel or research costs.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Monday 13th November 2017, 5pm.

Project information

Outward investment from emerging economies to advanced economies

A large amount of future economic growth is predicted to flow from outward investment from emerging economies, such as China, India and Brazil, to the advanced economies, in the form of acquisitions and greenfield investment. This questions the predictions of the “standard model” that foreign direct investment should flow from the technologically advanced economies into emerging economies, and research is required to explore the reasons why. One school of thought is that that there are both visible and invisible investment barriers preventing outward investment from advanced economies into the emerging economies. If so, these barriers can be seen as an implicit form of development assistance, enabling emerging economy firms to internationalize, and secure technology with which to upgrade at home.

Further research into this phenomenon would allow the academic community to understand why and how exactly this is happening. This research would inform policy makers in advanced economies as to whether steps need to be taken to level the playing field (via trade agreements, with investment chapters, and via international investment agreements), as well as to better predict emerging economy firms’ business and economic performance. There is a need to understand what happens following on from this “reverse” investment by emerging economy firms into the advanced economies. Those emerging economy firms accessing technology and intellectual property through the acquisition process, in order to fuel their domestic growth, then need to learn rapidly how to meet the challenge of running businesses across disparate economies.

Supervisors
Professor Jeremy Clegg, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration & International Business Management;
Dr Hinrich Voss, Associate Professor in International Business
Dr Janja Tardios, School of Management, King’s College, London (external supervisor)