TY - THES A1 - Ives, Jaqueline May T1 - The relevance of tax havens for China T1 - Die Relevanz von Steueroasen für China N2 - This paper examines the relevance of tax havens for China by determining which tax havens are important for China and to what extent. Furthermore, the motives for Chinese tax haven activity are analysed and compared to the motives of Western companies that primarily use tax havens for the purpose of tax arbitrage. An analysis of two listed Chinese companies, a private and a state-owned entity (SOE), exemplifies how Chinese businesses incorporate tax havens into their business structure and discusses differences between the motives of private and state-owned companies. The magnitude of tax havens found in the business structures emphasise the importance of tax havens for Chinese companies, irrespective of whether the company is an SOE or private, or conducts its business in China or internationally. While the reasons why the state-influenced company incorporated tax havens into their structure seemed to be related to legitimate business motives, the motives behind the structure of the private company seemed questionable. The assessment furthermore confirms that China’s weak institutional framework and restricting business environment is a major push factor and gives companies plenty of incentive to go offshore. N2 - Die Relevanz von Steueroasen für China KW - Steueroase KW - China KW - Steuern KW - tax havens KW - tax arbitrage KW - China KW - tax haven KW - tax arbitrage KW - offshore KW - Steueroase KW - Steuerhinterziehung Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-145794 ER - TY - THES A1 - Shane, Nadine T1 - The Country-of-Origin Effect and its Potential Impact on How German Consumers Perceive Chinese Luxury Goods N2 - This thesis investigates the impact of the country-of-origin effect on Chinese luxury brands which intend to enter the German luxury goods market. By means of a questionnaire and a quantitative analysis, possible threats to Chinese newcomers that derive from an unfavorable country image are illustrated. In fact, the Chinese origin of luxury goods has an impact on German consumers' perception. KW - country-of-origin effect KW - China KW - luxury market KW - consumerism KW - German consumers Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-153047 ER - TY - THES A1 - Schaper, Anna-Katharina T1 - Conquering China’s Second-Tier Cities: An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between a City’s Degree of Internationalization and Foreign Companies’ Market Entry Decisions in China’s Second-Tier Cities T1 - Eroberung von Chinas aufstrebenden Metropolen: Eine empirische Untersuchung der Beziehung zwischen dem Internationalisierungsgrad von Städten und den Markteintrittsentscheidungen ausländischer Unternehmen N2 - China’s emerging second-tier cities attract more and more foreign companies that are looking for business opportunities. Although much has been written about companies’ internationalization strategies, including companies’ market entry decisions and market entry mode strategies, research on the relationship between a city’s degree of internationalization and foreign companies’ market entry decisions and market entry mode strategies in second-tier cities in China is still relatively scarce. Thus, the central research question of this study is: Why and how does a second-tier city’s degree of internationalization influence foreign companies’ market entry decisions and market entry mode strategies in second-tier China? This study is based on a qualitative research approach; an embedded multiple-case study is applied and interviews with two different target groups are conducted. The first target group consists of foreign companies having established business operations in China’s second-tier cities directly and have had no previous business operations in first-tier cites. The second group is made up of foreign companies that initially operated in first-tier China, and then moved to second-tier cities. The company sample compromises small- and medium-sized foreign companies with various industry backgrounds and market entry modes in Chengdu and Chongqing. Since 2015, Maxxelli has been publishing its China International City Index (CICI) on a yearly basis in which it measures and compares China’s cities’ degree of internationalization. Because Maxxelli revised this year’s CICI methodology comprehensively, this study also aims at feedback to improve the overall CICI. This study concludes that a second-tier city’s degree of internationalization is particularly important to foreign companies having first set up in Chinese first-tier cities. Companies having established themselves in second-tier cities directly, do not pay a lot of direct attention to a city’s degree of internationalization and tend to base their market entry decisions more on business opportunities they identify in a city. In addition, this study argues that in most cases a city’s degree of internationalization does not influence the type of market entry mode companies choose to enter second-tier China. N2 - Chinas aufstrebende Metropolen rücken aufgrund ihrer Vielzahl an Geschäftsmöglichkeiten immer mehr in den Fokus ausländischer Unternehmen. Die bisherige Forschung über den Internationalisierungsgrad von Chinas aufstrebenden Metropolen und dessen Einfluss auf die Markteintrittsstrategie ausländischer Unternehmen ist sehr limitiert. Aufgrund dessen beschäftigt sich diese Arbeit mit der folgenden Forschungsfrage: „Warum und wie beeinflusst der Internationalisierungsgrad von aufstrebenden chinesischen Metropolen die Markteintrittsentscheidung und Markteintrittsform ausländischer Unternehmen?“. Die Studie basiert auf einem qualitativen Forschungsdesign. In einer ‚embedded multiple-case study‘ wurden Interviews mit klein- und mittelständischen Unternehmen aus unterschiedlichen Industrien geführt. Die interviewten Unternehmen hatten zum einen Geschäftsaktivitäten in traditionellen Metropolen, wie Shanghai und Peking, bevor sie Aktivitäten in den Städten Chengdu und Chongqing aufnahmen oder betraten zum anderen den chinesischen Markt erstmalig in Chengdu und Chongqing. Die Arbeit befasst sich ebenfalls mit dem von Maxxelli seit 2015 veröffentlichten ‚China International City Index‘. KW - China KW - entrepreneurship KW - second-tier cities KW - market entry decisions KW - foreign companies Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-161329 ER - TY - THES A1 - Schnermann, Sophia Victoria T1 - The impact of China's e-mobility development on German motor vehicle manufacturers T1 - Die Auswirkungen der Entwicklungen in China im Bereich der E-Mobilität auf deutsche Kraftfahrzeughersteller N2 - Compared to other countries, China was particularly early in developing a comprehensive set of policies to promote electric mobility (e-mobility). The aim of this study is to examine how China’s e-mobility development – through changes in formal institutions as well as market forces – has affected German passenger car manufacturers and their competitive environment and positions. The study is guided by two strands of research: new institutional economics and strategic management literature. A holistic multiple-case design is used to analyze five German case study firms. Qualitative interview data are collected through interviews and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The results show that the electric transformation in China has been shaped by changes in formal institutions at the macro, meso, and micro levels. Interestingly, the case study firms were affected not only by changes in China’s formal institutions but also by disparities between institutions in China and Europe. Furthermore, the data suggest that German car manufacturers are facing an increasingly competitive environment in China: at least four forces in Porter’s five-forces model seem to have intensified in recent years. The extent to which the case study firms have been affected by these developments may depend on the industry segments in which they are positioned. However, it can be argued that the electric transition has blurred the lines between traditional segments of the car industry to some extent. The interview data do not provide evidence that any of the German car brands have substantially changed their positioning, but they do suggest that some of the case study companies did not have an adequate offering for the Chinese market at the time of the interviews. In addition, the study finds that China’s transition to e-mobility has led to changes in various parts of the German automakers’ value chains, including production, sales, marketing, services, research and development, and procurement. Whether these changes will ultimately result in competitive advantage, parity, or disadvantage remains to be seen. N2 - Im Vergleich zu anderen Ländern hat China sehr früh ein umfassendes Maßnahmenpaket zur Förderung der Elektromobilität (E-Mobilität) implementiert. Diese Studie untersucht, wie sich die Entwicklungen in China im Bereich der E-Mobilität – durch Veränderungen der formellen Institutionen sowie der Marktkräfte – auf deutsche Automobilhersteller und deren Wettbewerbsumfeld und -positionen ausgewirkt haben. Die Studie knüpft an die Forschungsstränge der Neuen Institutionenökonomik und des Strategischen Managements an. Anhand eines holistischen Mehrfallstudiendesigns werden fünf deutsche Firmen analysiert. Qualitative Daten werden durch Interviews erhoben und mittels einer thematischen Analyse ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, wie sich die elektrische Transformation in China durch Veränderungen der formellen Institutionen auf der Makro-, Meso- und Mikroebene realisiert hat. Beeinflusst wurden die untersuchten Firmen interessanterweise nicht nur durch Veränderungen der formellen Institutionen in China, sondern auch durch institutionelle Unterschiede zwischen China und Europa. Darüber hinaus lassen die Daten erkennen, dass die deutschen Autobauer in China mit einem zunehmend wettbewerbsintensiven Umfeld konfrontiert sind: Mindestens vier der fünf Wettbewerbskräfte nach Porter scheinen sich in den letzten Jahren verstärkt zu haben. Wie stark die Firmen hiervon betroffen sind, dürfte von den Branchensegmenten abhängen, in denen sie positioniert sind, wobei allerdings zu beachten ist, dass der Wandel hin zur E-Mobilität die Grenzen zwischen den traditionellen Segmenten der Automobilbranche zu einem gewissen Grad aufgeweicht haben könnte. Die Interviewdaten liefern keine Hinweise auf wesentliche Veränderungen in der Positionierung deutscher Automarken, deuten aber darauf hin, dass einige Firmen zur Zeit der Interviews noch kein adäquates Angebot für den chinesischen Markt hatten. Auch zeigt die Studie, dass die chinesische E-Mobilitäts-Wende bei den deutschen Autobauern zu verschiedenen Veränderungen entlang der Wertschöpfungskette geführt hat, zum Beispiel in den Bereichen Produktion, Vertrieb, Marketing, Service, Forschung und Entwicklung sowie Beschaffung. Ob diese Veränderungen zu Wettbewerbsvorteilen, -parität oder -nachteilen führen werden, ist noch offen. KW - China KW - electric mobility KW - automotive industry KW - Automobilindustrie KW - new institutional economics KW - Neue Institutionenökonomik KW - strategic management KW - Institutionenökonomie KW - Strategisches Management KW - Elektromobilität KW - Kraftfahrzeugindustrie Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-353276 ER -