Riassunto analitico
The recent surge of European inward Foreign Direct Investments from Asian countries, and in particular China, has generated concerns and worries among European governments, some of which are sceptic about the impacts of FDI from eastern countries over European economy and politics. Beneficial effects of inward FDI from developed nations on the host-country economy are broadly recognized, but when it comes to investments from countries characterized by social differences with respect to our culture, some doubts may arise. Foreign Direct Investments and, specifically, acquisitions from developing countries such as China are seen as a menace, an attempted robbery of know-how, technology, expertise, and other intangible assets. In fact, when acquirers are Chinese firms, there is the fear that their main aim for FDI is to gain valuable knowledge and technology from the target firm in order to reproduce them in their homeland, becoming more competitive at a global level and acquiring an advantage over the host country.
Conversely, when investors are located in countries such as Japan or South Korea, FDI are not perceived as a threat to the host country’s economy and competitive advantage since theories suggest that acquisitions from developed countries can boost target firms’ performance by transferring not only capital but also know-how, skills, and expertise.
The main purpose of the research is to study the controversial effects of FDI and, specifically, acquisitions of Italian firms from Chinese investors, and compare them with acquisitions from technologically more advanced Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea. Starting from the idea that, while FDI from advanced countries are always beneficial for the hosting economy, countries hosting FDI from developing nations could suffer from technology spill-over and know-how transfer, this hypothesis will be tested by comparing pre- and post-acquisitions performance of Italian manufacturing firms acquired by Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean investors.
Firstly, a general overview of the main literature available from reliable sources about the theme of FDI in Europe and, specifically, Italy from China, Japan, and South Korea will be exposed. Then, the presentation of the applied methodology and the main research activities, including data collection and the creation of the databases containing target firms acquired by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean investors, will follow. Subsequently, pre- and post- acquisition performance of the target firms acquired by investors of different nationalities will be analyzed and compared to discover whether the initial hypothesis is corroborated by evidence. Finally, some business cases of Italian companies passed under Chinese and Japanese ownership will be presented in order to deeply observe the effects over performance of a change in the nationality at managerial levels.
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