The Challenge for Multinational Corporations in China: Think Local, Act Global

The place of multinational corporations in China has rapidly changed since the 1970s. No longer expected to bring cash and management expertise to China, the authors argue that MNCs have taken on a new role as teachers and role models. However, recent high-profile mistakes including a McDonalds Corp. (of Oak Brook, Illinois) ad that over 80% of Chinese surveyed found offensive, show that MNCs are not entirely up to this task. They illustrate the consequences of this inability to cope and suggest eight strategies for improving MNCs success in China: Think local-act global, dont apply double standards, dont bend the rules, avoid making symbolic acquisitions, avoid employing aggressive tactics over intellectual property rights, guard against management insensitivity, dont strip mine profits and dont use China as a lab. The authors then go on to show how these strategies can be executed to increase MNCs profits and standing in China.