Emerging players : an exploratory study of Chinese game companies' internationalization motives

The increasing presence of creative enterprises from emerging nations in the international markets calls into question the applicability of existing internationalization theories, which are predominantly based on manufacturing firms from developed economies. Against this background, this study focuses on the Chinese games sector as an exploratory attempt to understand why enterprises from emerging nations in creative industries decide to internationalize and whether their motivations can be adequately explained by existing theories. Based on interviews with 21 industry practitioners, insights from industry conferences and roundtables, and secondary data, the study finds a mix of alignment and deviation from established theories. While many motivations for internationalization among Chinese game companies can be partially explained by existing theories (e.g. escape motives, market seeking, strategic asset seeking and the springboard perspective), some theoretical extensions are warranted. Most notably, the research identifies the role of regulatory constraints on content of creative outputs, the strategic value of existing clients in overseas market, and the critical role of intellectual property in internationalization motivation – dimensions previously underexplored in the literature. Furthermore, this study finds some deviations that challenge the assumptions and boundaries of existing knowledge (e.g. fostering view, efficiency seeking, and the springboard perspective). It demonstrates that domestic institutional incentives alone are insufficient drivers of internationalization. Firms’ awareness and perceived likelihood of receiving such inducements and support are critical. Moreover, while digitalization facilitates efficiency seeking motives, the localization required for creative industries may reduce its applicability. In addition, this study challenges the assumption that emerging market companies rely on internationalization to overcome latecomer disadvantages, showing instead that leveraging innovation and advanced technologies allows them to bypass direct competition with developed market firms. Findings here contribute to advancing international business literature by shedding light on some previously overlooked constructs and identifying the boundary conditions within which extant theory is generalizable.