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In 2013, China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to promote infrastructure development and investment initiatives that would extend from China through Central/Western/Southeast Asia to Europe and Africa. These initiatives are intended to sustain economic growth via exporting excess capacity and further expand its international business in the global market, including some of the most under-served regions of the world. By 2017, more than 70 countries (including both emerging and advanced economies) that collectively account for over one-half of the world's population and over one-third of global GDP have signed onto this mega-project. Although some countries expressed concerns over the debt burdens and governance standards associated with the BRI projects, many countries have become active participants.

Although the development of the BRI has created new opportunities for the further development of multinational enterprises (MNEs), it has also emerged in an environment of debate over the apparent deglobalization, signs of a backlash over globalization and possible decoupling (Cuervo Cazurrra et al., 2017; Li et al., 2019b; Meyer, 2017; Witt, 2019). Unprecedentedly, anti-globalization sentiment has increased even in traditionally pro-free-trade Western societies, shift in mindset and policy that can significantly change the previously favorable global context for MNEs (Ramamurti and Hillemann, 2018). Multinational enterprises from emerging markets (EMNEs) are likely to be particularly impacted by growing restrictions on trade and investments because, as late comers to international expansion, they are “infants” or “teenagers” facing critical bottlenecks such as poor governance structures, lack of management with global experience, brands that are unknown internationally and possibly inferior technological capabilities (Luo and Tung, 2007, 2018). The ban on some Chinese firms in the US market, for example, underlines the fact that EMNEs may suffer from “liabilities of origin” and latecomer disadvantages in global markets (Muralidharan et al., 2017; Madhok and Keyhani, 2012).

Against the background of these impediments to globalization, the BRI offers a good opportunity for the rapid expansion of EMNEs, and especially for the development of Chinese MNEs. Since 2013, for instance, BRI countries have seen a significant increase in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by Chinese MNEs, while total outward foreign direct investment (FDI) into these countries from China increased by 46.2 % (Du and Zhang, 2018; Kang et al., 2018; Williamson, 2020). In the BRI context, the country-of-origin effect for Chinese MNEs could be positive and their relationships with home-country political structures could become valuable assets that enable them to generate capability-based and legitimacy-based advantages in BRI countries (Ramachandran and Pant, 2010; Orazgaliyev, 2020). Rather than suffering from liabilities as a result of their country of origin, Chinese MNEs may gain legitimacy in BRI countries through national branding and institutional support under the BRI umbrella, although the extent of these benefits varies across firms (Zhang et al., 2020; Li et al., 2019a). The BRI may, therefore, play a role in the so-called “springboarding” strategy of Chinese MNEs in their general process of evolution to catch up and even surpass those leading MNEs from the advanced economies (Luo and Tung, 2007; 2018; Li et al., 2021).

It is clear that the BRI can bring both opportunities and challenges to MNEs, especially EMNEs such as Chinese MNEs. BRI countries offer an enormous market, but EMNEs need to be equipped with sufficient capabilities and appropriate strategies to explore that market potential. As we mentioned earlier, many of these EMNEs may lack the necessary resources and advanced capabilities, so several major questions linger. How can such firms leverage their existing and external resources to take advantage of the BRI to enhance their growth? What kind of strategy should they adopt to catch up with global market leaders with the help of FDI? How would their strategies evolve in their internationalization process? As many EMNEs are new entrepreneurial ventures in overseas markets, how can they promote their entrepreneurial ambitions via opportunity development? How do the different opportunities presented by BRI influence their technological development and innovation? International human resource management in MNEs is another important aspect we need to understand, given its importance in determining the success of internationalization (Luo and Tung, 2017). In particular, how do Chinese expatriates adapt to the overseas context in BRI countries and what influences their cross-border adaption? And what is the role of expatriates from BRI countries working in the context of China in facilitating the transfer and recontextualization of capabilities and potential advantages? These are all salient questions, yet underexplored in the context of the BRI. This special issue represents one of the most recent attempts to shed insights on these questions.

This special issue addresses issues facing MNEs in the new era of globalization with the unique opportunities and challenges arising from the development of BRI. Among the submissions we received, five of these papers were accepted after undergoing the standard review process. The accepted papers cover various topics such as the post-entry growth, catch up strategy, innovation strategy and expatriate management of MNEs. Four of them collected survey data with quantitative analysis and one paper adopted a qualitative, case-study methodology. All the accepted papers cover important issues that were proposed in the original call for papers, especially the issues related to the strategic implications of BRI for EMNEs, the learning and innovation activities and outcomes of cross-border investment by EMNEs and the challenges EMNEs face in their attempts to internationalize and develop their international management processes and capabilities. These five papers are summarized in Table 1.

The first paper by Shi, Boadu and Du (this special issue) studies the post-entry growth of Chinese MNEs from a perspective of structural embeddedness. Structural embeddedness, which can be considered as the configuration of units in a social network (Granovetter, 1992), can enable Chinese MNEs to utilize and control resources drawn from external networks effectively, increase the number of alternatives they have to broaden their overseas market scope and improve their resource allocation efficiency of existing markets by matching suitable solutions (Singh and Kundu, 2002). Through the SEM analysis of a survey data set of 206 Chinese multinational firms from the manufacturing and service industries, the empirical findings show Chinese MNEs' structural embeddedness is positively related to their scope of post-entry growth, which has a U-shaped relationship with their scale of post-entry growth. In addition, their scope of post-entry growth mediates the relationship between structural embeddedness and the scale of post-entry growth. Moreover, the indirect effect of structural embeddedness on the scope of post-entry growth through the scale of post-entry growth is nonlinear. As the structural embeddedness strengthens, the positive indirect effect gradually weakens. This paper specifically contributes to the understanding of internationalization of EMNEs by linking their structural embeddedness with their post-entry growth. It also offers an extended view of post-entry growth of Chinese MNEs' by looking at the interaction between scope and scale and potential synergies between a sprinkler strategy (targeting numerous overseas markets concurrently) and a waterfall strategy (focusing on depth of growth) by pursuing both simultaneously.

Peng, Fang and Lockett (this special issue) explore the choice of a catch-up strategy for EMNEs and analyzes how Chinese EMNEs select between focused or ambidextrous catch-up strategies within the framework of BRI. Based on the case studies of two EMNEs in the flat knitting machine industry and the injection molding machine industry respectively, their findings suggest that the choice of catch-up strategy is influenced by the nature of the windows of opportunity and the firm's accumulated technological capability. More specifically, the opening of institutional windows caused by BRI could significantly boost the international catch-up process by providing an opportunity for EMNEs to enter more markets and new technology fields. Moving beyond the catch-up stage, EMNEs could transition from a focused strategy in the catch-up stage to an ambidextrous strategy. These findings not only enhance our knowledge about the dynamics of catch-up strategies in the global context but also enrich the literature on the ambidexterity of EMNEs in the context of BRI.

Zhou and Yin (this special issue) study the impact of new ventures' opportunity development on innovation strategy (the degree to which a new venture develops and introduces novel products/services in the market) of Chinese new ventures. By analyzing the survey data collected from 215 entrepreneurs and top executives in Chinese new ventures, they find new ventures' opportunity creation positively impacts innovation strategy, while opportunity discovery has a curvilinear (inverted U-shape) impact on innovation strategy. In addition, both political ties and business ties moderate the relationship between opportunity development and innovation strategy. Their study provides an in-depth and a more comprehensive understanding of the influence mechanism of opportunity development on new ventures' innovation strategy by analyzing and comparing the impact of two types of opportunity development, specifically: opportunity discovery and opportunity creation. The adoption and empirical testing of political ties and business ties as moderators also reveal the impact of the Chinese context on the unique characteristics of entrepreneurial activities.

Sullivan and Jannesari (this special issue) study self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) who are working in China and examine the influence of relationship quality, autonomous work motivation and socialization experience on their adjustment. Based on their analysis of survey data collected from 274 SIEs from BRI countries in China, they find the relationship quality of SIEs with host country nationals (HCNs) is positively associated with their adjustment. Meanwhile, socialization experience moderates the positive relationship between SIEs' relationship quality with HCNs and their autonomous work motivation. This study enhances the theoretical development of the concept of relationship quality by proposing the two dimensions of trust and shared vision in the study of SIE adjustment. In addition, it unpacks the underlying mechanisms by which expatriate-HCN interactions influence expatriate outcomes, highlights the importance of autonomous work motivation for SIE outcomes and underscores the critical role of socialization experiences in the SIE adjustment process.

Similarly, Jiang, Zhang, Li, Frost, Rong and Cheng (this special issue) also study expatriates, but their sample centers on Chinese expatriates who are working in the BRI countries. They look at the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adaptation, and the impact of organizational position level and cultural flow direction on the adaptation process. Based on the survey data collected from 387 Chinese expatriates in both advanced and emerging economies (Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand and South Africa), they find both organizational position level and cultural flow moderate the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adaptation. This study offers a systematic cross-level typology that provides an integrated understanding of the impacts of expatriation by incorporating the effects of cultural intelligence at the micro level, job position authorization at the meso level and cultural flows at the macro level. It also helps us to understand the importance of the direction of cultural flows and an individual's position within the organization in influencing the relationship between cultural intelligence and cultural adaptation of expatriates in the BRI context.

We observe a number of common themes across the papers in this special issue, including significant strategic implications, opportunities, impact and challenges that the BRI has created for MNEs. While the papers in the special issue have accomplished the major objectives of the special issue, some limitations and under-researched areas remain that can be addressed in future studies. First, there is a lack of in-depth analysis about the long-term effects of BRI on MNE strategies and performance, largely due to the short duration of BRI projects and the much-delayed attention from scholars concerning the implications of BRI. It would be interesting to reexamine the relationships studied in the papers of this special issue after a few years to see whether and to what extent they persist, especially under the disturbances caused by the trade war between China and US and the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, the pandemic has led to a shock in both demand and supply of the global economy, unprecedentedly stimulated the digital connectivity which can substitute for physical contact and significantly reduced the need of physical infrastructure (Buckley, 2020). Future research can also apply longitudinal research methods such as collecting survey or interview data in multiple waves to track the impact of BRI in a longer term.

Second, the impact of BRI on MNEs also depends on the stakeholders involved. The relationships of MNEs with their home and host countries at the firm level, the relationships between their home and host countries at the national level and the regional or global trade agreements and governance issues at the global level all matter. Based on the current development and policies as part of BRI, it seems China is trying to promote and diffuse its own development model and experience into other countries, particularly into emerging economies. This approach to development may favor certain institutional configurations, such as relatively weak legal and economic institutions, and amplify the impacts of institutional fragility as a mechanism for promoting Chinese outward FDI to other emerging economies (Sutherland et al., 2020). It would be interesting to further study the impact of institutional environments of BRI countries on MNEs' behaviors, decisions and strategies.

Third, the accepted papers focus on the development of MNEs in emerging economies particularly China. As we develop a better understanding of the strategic and managerial challenges imposed on EMNEs as they internationalize, future research can devote more efforts to addressing the challenges they face and help more fully define the managerial models suitable for the development of EMNEs in BRI countries. It would also be interesting to compare and contrast the different strategies that AMNEs and EMNEs deploy and challenges they face in in the context of the BRI. In contrast to EMNEs with low resource munificence and weak home institutions, AMNEs with more international experience and capabilities in operating overseas may face different opportunities and challenges in BRI countries.

Finally, we would like to reiterate our deepest and most sincere thanks to the authors and reviewers who gave of their time and expertise to contribute to this special issue.

This paper forms part of a special section “The Belt-and-Road Initiative in the New Era of Globalization: Unique Opportunities and Challenges to MNEs”, guest edited by Peter Ping Li, Peter J. Williamson, Abby Jingzi Zhou and Rosalie L. Tung.

The authors would like to thank Professor Peter Ping Li for his support as the consulting editor of this special issue, and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71732007) for financial support.