A retrospective and agenda for future research on Chinese outward foreign direct investment

Our original 2007 Journal of International Business Studies article, “The determinants of Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment”, was the first theoretically based empirical analysis of the phenomenon. It utilised internalisation theory to explain the internationalisation of Chinese state-owned enterprises. This paper showed that we had failed to ask sufficiently challenging questions about the effects of home country institutions on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). This Retrospective builds on the extensive subsequent research to show the importance of context in constructing satisfactory theoretical explanations of OFDI. Building on these foundations, we propose research challenges for the next decade on Chinese OFDI that transcend the Chinese context and have wider theoretical applicability. Examining alternative forms of social and economic organisation allows the creation of special theories of foreign direct investment nested within the general theory. Following such a strategy would enable International Business research to make a contribution across the social sciences.