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Enterprise localization practices and their implication for knowledge management in foreign participation in the Chinese construction sector

journal contribution
posted on 2015-11-01, 00:00 authored by Igor MartekIgor Martek, C Chen
Foreign firms active in the Chinese construction industry find themselves in a competitive environment unlike the environments in which they operate back home. Adaptations are therefore required in order that firms retain competitive leverage while integrating into the circumstances of the Chinese market. Since these firms primarily compete on superior knowledge capabilities it is instructive to understand how adaptations both serve to transfer propriety capabilities to China while adapting to the knowledge characteristics of the Chinese market into which those capabilities are transplanted. Five localizing parameters across which adaptations take place are identified in this paper and rates of localization are tabulated for 60 foreign firms active in the Chinese construction industry. Revealed localizing behaviors are then analyzed in the light of existing literature for explanatory power. It is concluded that in order to be strategically competitive firms must not only retain knowledge differentials, but that the knowledge must be coded and disseminated in a manner suited to the environment in which it is to be utilized.

History

Journal

Journal of management in engineering

Volume

31

Season

Article Number : 05014024

Article number

05014024

Pagination

1-13

Location

Reston, Va.

ISSN

0742-597X

eISSN

1943-5479

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article, C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2014, American Society of Civil Engineers

Issue

6

Publisher

American Society of Civil Engineers