Driving forces behind the international expansion strategies of non-European EMNEs – a comparative analysis of the Chinese and Brazilian cases

The rise of multinational enterprises (MNEs) from emerging markets is topical, important and poses a number of questions and challenges that require considerable attention in the future from academia as well as business management. Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from non-European emerging regions is not a new phenomenon, what is new, is the magnitude that this phenomenon has achieved over the past one and a half decade. The recent takeovers of high-profile companies in developed or developing countries by non-European emergingmarket MNEs (EMNEs) – such as Lenovo, Wanhua (China), Hindalco (India), CVRD (Brazil), Cemex (Mexico), Lukoil (Russia), etc. – as well as the greenfield or brownfield investments of emerging companies (such as Huawei, ZTE, Tata, Pepco, etc.) show a new trend where new kind of firms become major players globally. According to the World Investment Report investments from emerging-markets reached a record level: “developing Asia now invests abroad more than any other region. Nine of the 20 largest investor countries were from developing or transition economies” (UNCTAD 2015: ix.). Today, the rise of EMNEs is driven by the Asian economy, mainly China and India, however, this process is broader, incorporates a growing number of developing economies and complemented by the growing share of emerging markets in world exports (Sauvant 2008, Nölke 2014). In addition, non-European EMNEs have become important players in several regions around the globe, ranging from the least developed countries of Africa through the developing markets in Latin America and Asia to the developed countries of the United States or the European