SBA's collaborative research studies global business expansion

Thanks to the collaborative research efforts between scholars at Oakland University’s School of Business Administration and Hohai University in Nanjing, China, companies across the globe may soon discover the factors that guide companies toward rapid foreign expansion and determine if fast-paced growth leads to business success or if it negatively impacts corporate performance.

Research Scholar Yuan Ding, of the Strategic Management Institute, Hohai University in Nanjing, China, came to Oakland to explore those issues. Once there, he discovered a team of like-minded and equally curious SBA professors ready to collaborate. This team's discoveries will support future academic research and assist corporations in evaluating expansion strategies.

“The professors at OU’s SBA have advantages in theoretical analysis and data mining, while we at Hohai have advantages in survey and data collection. These findings promote my institute’s research, which is focused on MNCs strategy in China,” Ding said. “From a personal aspect, the collaboration taught me many things about research methods and theory analysis.”

The team’s refined body of research will not only benefit academia, but should have an impact on global business.

“China is a key emerging market, but that does not guarantee success,” Ding added. “Many companies experience great success in our country while others fail. Our collaboration will facilitate research on factors that lead to success in such a rapidly growing market.”

The professors jointly submitted their findings to the International Association for Chinese Management Research. Once peer reviews are completed, the team hopes to publish the paper in the Journal of Business Research. In the future, the team may again collaborate on related case studies involving the auto industry.