The rise of Asian elephants and tigers: what makes Indian and Chinese firms competitive?
| Published date | 21 March 2019 |
| Date | 21 March 2019 |
| Pages | 263-276 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-05-2016-0074 |
| Author | Sue Claire Berning |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,International business |
The rise of Asian elephants and tigers:
what makes Indian and Chinese
firms competitive?
Sue Claire Berning
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to critically analyze the resources and determinants of
capabilities and attributes which enable Indian and Chinese firms to develop competitive advantages.
The leading research question asks whether the traditional concept of competitiveness can capture
Indian andChinese firms’ competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach –A systematic and comprehensive literature review of 62 studies
published between 1994and 2016 with focus on Indian and Chinese firms is conducted to examine the
nature and contextual conditions of their competitiveness, as well as the research methods and
underlyingtheories.
Findings –Turning disadvantages into advantages and shifting the points of take-off are the most
outstandingfindings. Moreover, the majority of 88per cent of the examined studies concludes thatIndian
and Chinesefirms built nontraditional competitive strengths.
Research limitations/implications –Because of the unconventional competitiveness of Indian and
Chinesefirms, existing theoretical perspectivesand research settings need revisions and extensions.
Originality/value –Unlike most extant research on India and China,which studies country- or industry-
level variablesusing aggregate data, this paper reveals distinct patternsand similarities and differences
of firm-level characteristics. In addition, by exclusively focusing on Indian and Chinese firms’
competitiveness,conclusions about their uniquenessand generalizability can be drawn.
Keywords China, India, Competitiveness, Firm-specific advantages, Asian management research
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
India and China experienced vast transformations over the past three decades, as they
opened up to foreign capital, technology and talent. One clearly visible consequence of
their fundamentally changed economic and business environment is the increase of
successful firms from these two Asian countries. Prominent examples are Tata, Dr Reddy’s,
Lenovo and Geely that all provoked international awareness through spectacular mergers
and acquisitions of developed market firms (Jaguar, Betapharm, IBM and Volvo). Overall,
the number of Indian and Chinese firms competing in domestic as well as international
markets is constantly growing. These latecomers are often ascribed to possess
nontraditional features leading to competitive advantages (Morck et al.,2008;Goldstein
and Pusterla, 2010). Taken together, the pattern of rapid emergence and international
expansion of Indian and Chinese firms constitutes an unprecedented, puzzling
phenomenon.
The observable rise of Indian and Chinese firms’ importance on a global scale is paralleled
by a rise of literature on Indian and Chinese firms.Numerous studies exist which emphasize
that Indian and Chinese firms exhibit unique traits, like specific management cultures
Sue Claire Berning is based
at the Business School of
Technical University,
Ingolstadt, Germany.
Received 17 May 2016
Revised 12 September 2016
29 September 2016
Accepted 30 October 2016
DOI 10.1108/JABS-05-2016-0074 VOL. 13 NO. 2 2019, pp. 263-276, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1558-7894 jJOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES jPAGE 263
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