To engage or not? An exploratory case study on how multinational enterprises can engage with development finance institutions to promote host country industrialization in Africa.

Nonmarket strategy presents alternative strategies that firms can use to create value, yet, most nonmarket studies have not considered multinational enterprises (MNEs) and development finance institutions’ (DFIs) engagement and how they can promote host country development in Africa. This study, therefore sought to understand how MNEs could engage with DFIs to drive host country industrialization, using sustainable development goal number nine (SDG-9) as an organising principle. Based on an exploratory case study, 15 participants from the MNE and its subsidiaries, DFIs and experts were interviewed. Scholars have been calling for a better understanding of how MNEs engage with external stakeholders in addressing socio-economic issues in emerging countries. This study has therefore contributed by shedding light in this respect. The study found that, i) The host country’s industrialization, through foreign direct investment (FDI), is a consequence of a good investment climate and therefore improbable to happen as a result of a nonmarket strategy. ii) To drive industrialization, Africa must have an integrated infrastructure that dissuade elitism and supports small and medium-sized enterprises and industrialization. iii) MNE subsidiaries operating in Africa are no different from start-ups and host country institutions must be cognisance of this in how they engage with subsidiaries in Africa. iv) Managing complexity and available flexible finance is key in managing successful partnerships between MNEs and DFIs. This study provides useful details to the nuances that are important in engaging in nonmarket strategies that have not been considered for MNEs operating in Africa. It brings to light the constraints of multiple embeddedness of subsidiaries operating in Africa and their battles as they seek to engage in nonmarket strategies. Further, the study contributes to the nonmarket strategy literature by considering DFIs as important actors in driving development within Africa.

非市场战略（Nonmarket Strategy）为企业提供了创造价值的可选路径。然而，当前非市场领域的研究大多未关注跨国企业（Multinational Enterprises, MNEs）与开发金融机构（Development Finance Institutions, DFIs）的互动模式，以及二者如何推动非洲东道国的经济发展。为此，本研究以第九项可持续发展目标（Sustainable Development Goal 9, SDG-9）为研究框架，旨在探究跨国企业如何与开发金融机构开展合作，以推动东道国的工业化进程。本研究采用探索性案例研究方法，对来自该跨国企业及其子公司、开发金融机构及相关领域专家的15名受访者进行了访谈。学界一直呼吁进一步厘清跨国企业如何与外部利益相关者协作，以解决新兴国家的社会经济议题，本研究就此填补了相关研究空白。研究发现：i) 东道国通过外商直接投资（Foreign Direct Investment, FDI）实现工业化，本质是优良投资环境的产物，而非非市场战略的直接结果，因此仅依靠非市场战略难以推动工业化落地；ii) 非洲若要推动工业化，需构建一体化基础设施，既要抑制精英主义倾向，又要为中小企业（Small and Medium-sized Enterprises）与工业化进程提供支撑；iii) 在非洲运营的跨国企业子公司与初创企业并无本质差异，东道国相关机构在与其开展互动时需充分认识到这一点；iv) 管控合作复杂性与灵活可用的融资资源，是维系跨国企业与开发金融机构成功伙伴关系的核心要素。本研究阐明了非洲跨国企业在开展非市场战略时需关注的关键细节与细微差异，填补了此前相关研究的盲区。研究揭示了在非洲运营的子公司所面临的多重嵌入性约束，以及其在推行非市场战略过程中遭遇的种种困境。此外，本研究将开发金融机构视为推动非洲本土发展的重要参与主体，丰富了非市场战略领域的研究文献。