Theoretical extensions or path-breaking new theories of internationalization ? An analysis of the Marketing Management strategies of four Chinese multinational enterprises in Europe : Late bird catches the worm (too)

Nowadays researchers of International Business could not possibly fail to notice the phenomenon that the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflows and outflows of the world's developing countries keep increasing at a steady pace, and within this group, China continues to take the lead, showing great momentum both as a recipient of foreign investments and as an investor itself, not only in fellow developing countries, but in developed ones as well. And the main player and driver behind the scene is the country's MNEs (Multinational Enterprises) - latecomers in terms of internationalization, Chinese MNEs are competing their more established competitors, the MNE early-movers, all over the world, including in the home markets of the latter. Existing studies on China's internationalization fail to reflect its scale and depth; Chinese MNEs as well as the social-economical situation of the country as a whole demonstrate distinct features, which deserve more-focused and case-specific studies. While questions often linger on whether the internationalization process of Chinese MNEs can be explained in terms of mainstream theories derived from early-movers, or in terms of the analyses that have so far been offered for latecomers, we decide to make a contribution to the solution of the question by having a focused examination on the Marketing strategies of four major Chinese MNEs internationalizing into developed country markets, notably West Europe: Huawei, Haier, Lenovo and Geely - all of which are already leaders in the domestic market and actively seeking a global leadership. By juxtaposing propositions derived from the strategic behaviors of Chinese MNEs with existing internationalization theories (both mainstream and alternative), we demonstrate how such theories could evolve in the new context of globalization, and make managerial contributions to both MNE latecomers and early-movers alike.