How do local and foreign firms compete? Competitive actions in an emerging economy

When foreign and local firms compete, they face competitors acting quite differently from themselves. Specifically, their ability to engage in timely and frequent actions is influenced by, respectively, the Liability of Foreignness (LoF) and the Liability of Localness (LoL). We explore how the trade-off between LoF and LoL influences the aggressiveness of competitive actions firms take in emerging markets. Specifically, we argue that LoF results in weaker government ties that inhibit the aggressiveness of competitive actions of multinational subsidiaries, while LoL results in weaker technological capabilities that inhibit competitive aggressiveness of domestic firms. We apply structural equation modelling on Chinese survey data to test hypotheses derived from these arguments and find empirical support. Our results shed new light on competitive dynamics in an emerging economy.