In this hybrid research seminar on Wednesday December 3rd, 2025 at 12:00 pm by Professor Gabriel R.G. Benito — will present his research titled "Beyond Springboarding: How Chinese Companies Leapfrogged to Become Global Leaders in the Automotive Industry".
Abstract:
Some multinational enterprises from emerging economies (EMNEs) have managed to become global leaders in their respective industries due to spring boarding – a strategy whereby internationalisation is supported by the acquisition of foreign firms that possess strategic assets that enhance the firm-specific advantages (FSA) of the EMNE. Spring boarding helped firms compensate for some of the disadvantages of being an EMNE, such as being latecomers in international markets, and being based in home markets that have less stringent protection for branding and technological innovations than advanced economies. We argue that spring boarding, while important, is only one of the possible routes through which EMNEs can become world leaders in an industry. We examine how EMNEs can “leapfrog alone” – i.e. develop domestically the FSAs needed to compete with established advanced economy MNEs. Our analysis is theoretically grounded in New Internalisation Theory, combined with the literature on Sustainability-oriented Industrial Policies (SIP). We use the case of the Chinese automotive industry – particularly its transition to electric vehicle technology – to illustrate our reasoning. In particular, we argue that a forward-looking state actively engaged in SIP is a critical antecedent of leapfrogging because it reduces the risk associated with asset-specific investments in new technology and the expansion of capacity in uncertain market conditions.
The zoom link to join the seminar online can be found here. This event is open to the public. All who are interested to this topic are very welcome to join the seminar. After the presentation there will be time for questions and discussion.
For any queries related to our UNU-MERIT Seminar Series, please contact Lizeth Melissa Molina Alvarez and Karthika Baby Sujatha by sending an email to seminars@merit.unu.edu.
