The effect of corruption distance and market orientation on the ownership choice of MNEs: Evidence from China

Motivated by previous studies on the effect of corruption on entry strategies of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs), this research examines how corruption distance influences the choice between wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) and joint venture (JV) for MNEs operating in China. We found that MNEs from countries which are less corrupt than China prefer WOS over JV; the higher corruption distance it is between these countries and China, the higher probability their MNEs choose WOS over JV. In contrast, MNEs from equally and more corrupt countries do not prefer WOS over JV; nor the corruption distance affects their entry mode decision. Market orientation has a universal and powerful effect on the entry mode choice regardless which group of countries MNEs are from. It also weakens the tendency for MNEs from less corrupt countries to choose WOS over JV.