Editorial: Advancing International Marketing Thought Based on the China Experience

The importance of China to the world economy is undeniable, and as such the relevance of this important global economic power for scholarly research in the international marketing domain endures. China is of particular significance for the global marketing field not only because of its size—ranking first in terms of population, purchasing power parity, exports, and a host of other metrics—but also because of its experience as a transitional economy. While there are risks to its continued growth, as with many countries, many argue that the sheer size of the market as well as the level of foreign direct investment already in place in China will continue to support its position as an economic superpower (National Intelligence Council 2020). In addition, a key area in which China is expected to gain or maintain prominence is innovation and technology flows. Indeed, the size of market is viewed as promising sufficient returns to motivate expenditures for acquiring either foreign technology or investments in developing competitive technologies (Li 2018). In addition, China is investing in initiatives to (1) develop new technologies such as artificial intelligence, energy storage, robotics, and quantum information systems; (2) increase the number of science and engineering graduates; and (3) mobilize large pools of data (Council on Foreign Relations 2019). Reflecting such investments, at least in part, is China’s high penetration of multinational corporations. Finally, related to both advances in technology and the competitive dynamics in the Chinese market, the purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers is also being transformed by companies such as Alibaba Group, JD.com, and Meituan Dianping, in that they are increasingly moving online to shop (Lin 2020).

While extant research in the international marketing domain has largely employed China as a context for empirical studies—and in some cases focused more specifically on phenomena unique to the Chinese market—there is much yet to be learned from the Chinese experience. Reflecting this sentiment, my predecessor as Editor in Chief of the Journal of International Marketing, Costas Katsikeas, was inspired to produce a special issue focused on China. His efforts yielded several excellent and thought-provoking papers, and after I assumed the role of EIC for JIM, I also identified papers that I felt would be outstanding additions based on their coverage of topics of particular interest to international marketing theory and practice and their emphasis on China. Each of the articles submitted to the special issue underwent the standard JIM peer-review process. The author teams received critical feedback on their submissions and revised their articles as many as three times before they were accepted. The articles in this issue address a wide range of topics that reflect the particular dynamics in the Chinese market discussed previously. I believe these articles present a sound basis for future studies on issues related to not only China but also other emerging and/or transitional markets.

I now introduce the five articles included in this special issue. First, reflecting the evolution of purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers, two articles focus on the online retail context. In the first article, Bei and Gielens (2020) discuss whether and to what extent joining online 3P marketplaces in China can generate market value, an issue of great relevance to firms operating in China due to challenges in reaching consumers as a result of institutional and infrastructure weaknesses. In their empirical study of over 400 firms originating from 20 countries, the authors use store opening announcements to evaluate the impact of adopting 3P marketplaces on a firm’s stock market return. The second article, by Van Ewijk, Steenkamp, and Gijsbrechts (2020), focuses on the Chinese online versus offline grocery arena, a topic of particular importance given China’s position as a worldwide leader in online grocery sales. Drawing on data representing nearly 450 brands in 60 product categories, the authors examine what drives differences in brands’ abilities to secure a portion of China’s online grocery market.

Next, reflecting China’s growing position as a leader in innovation and technology, two articles focus on innovation and/or new product development, with one also examining headquarters–subsidiary relationships. Using a survey of managers in nearly 250 firms from both the United States and China, Samiee et al. (2020) compare Chinese and Western firms’ tendencies to engage in intentional cannibalization in the Chinese market. Their findings suggest important differences in the way intentional cannibalization and radical innovation affect performance across Western and Chinese firms. Next, the study by Leung, Tse, and Yim (2020) focuses on the role of customer cocreation in multinational firms’ Chinese subsidiaries for new product innovativeness, considering also the importance of firms’ global management mechanisms in terms of headquarters–subsidiary interactions. Noting that the practice of customer participation in new product development is an emerging strategy among multinational firms operating in China, these authors further examine the critical concern of knowledge leakage to competitors as a result of this practice. Finally, related also to the notion of managing complex relationships in an emerging environment, the study by Wang, Zhang, and Zhou (2020) examines international buyer–supplier relationships in China, focusing in particular on the role of calculative and relational trust asymmetry for exchange performance. The article highlights the critical role of institutional differences in institutions in shaping trusting relationships in China.

In summary, the articles in this special issue advance marketing knowledge related to prevailing themes in the Chinese market. They all offer relevant and intriguing future research directions in international marketing. I am grateful to Costas Katsikeas for his initial inspiration to develop a special issue on this topic and to the authors of the five excellent articles I summarize in this editorial. I believe these articles will spur research on related topics, whether based on phenomena unique to China or other transitional or emerging markets or focused on substantive issues related to those they address.