A Quest for Repositioning: The Emerging Internationalization of Chinese Companies

When the third wave of internationalization appears in the near future, how will Chinese firms, especially small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs), position their products strategically? The framework of this paper is composed of price/volume segments and impacts on product strategy theory. The aim is to identify important drivers and focus areas for Chinese companies and measure what role these play in different segments. The survey is a quantitative study based on responses given in April 2006 by 102 Chinese EMBA students currently working, largely as managers, in the Shanghai region. The results indicate that Europe has potential to be a priority target market for Asian companies. Net flows, over time, illustrate how the respondents believe their companies are presently positioned and how they will be positioned in the ‘future’ (year 2010). These net flows indicate that some Chinese companies will reposition themselves strategically when internationalizing and that they will focus on other factors or drivers when doing so, compared to companies adapting the prevalent price leadership strategy. The results should be seen as indicative and as presenting a template for deeper research.