China is one of the largest outward foreign-direct-investors (OFDIs) and is rapidly internationalising. There are numerous studies about the internationalisation of Chinese MNCs, in particular their development, determinants, motivations and performance. Many scholars in international business argue that one of the major reasons for firms from emerging markets such as China to invest in developed economies is to assimilate new knowledge and resources; exploring learning by Chinese MNCs in the developed countries is therefore significant. However, there is little research about Chinese MNCs learning abroad and even fewer studies on the processes of learning. This thesis analyses these processes and the motivations of Chinese OFDI in the UK and explores how their subsidiaries learn, exploit knowledge, develop capabilities, and how they transfer knowledge and capabilities to the headquarters (HQs). In order to explore the learning of Chinese subsidiaries in the UK, it is crucial to understand the nature and motives of their OFDI to ensure the existence of learning in these firms. This dataset includes the largest survey (30 respondents) of Chinese subsidiaries in the UK and qualitative interviews with 40 employees in 15 subsidiaries and seven HQs of Chinese MNCs. Based on the resource-based view of the firm, absorptive capacity, knowledge transfer and Andersson, Forsgren and Holm’s (2001) processes of capabilities development in a MNC, a conceptual framework is developed, which guides data collection and analysis: this is then revised, based upon the study’s findings. This new framework suggests a unique process of capabilities development within a Chinese subsidiary and their HQs, two different learning circles. The longer learning circle presents Chinese subsidiaries exploiting new knowledge to develop capabilities and transfer the new capabilities to the HQs. The shorter learning circle shows Chinese subsidiaries sometimes transferring unexploited information and knowledge to the HQs. Whilst HQs develop capabilities through directly absorbing new knowledge created by subsidiaries, HQs also inhibit subsidiaries from collecting knowledge useful in developing new capabilities. Therefore, the learning and knowledge transfer in the subsidiaries is mainly based on the HQs’ interests and requests; thus under-utilising the absorptive capacity of subsidiaries. There are other important findings. The scope of learning in subsidiaries is restricted by the scope of their operations, especially in human resources, sales and marketing. There is also dissonance between the intent to learn and the actions of learning, which arises from the majority of these Chinese MNCs not having formal and systematic approaches towards learning, knowledge exploitation and knowledge transfer.

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published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Science in Real Estate and Construction Development

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Architecture / Master / Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Design and Management

published_or_final_version / abstract / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Economic benefit assessment has become an integral requirement of transmission system planning in the context of electricity market deregulation around the world. In a deregulated electricity market, not only does transmission planning have to address technical requirements but also has to consider commercial issues linked to an electricity market. One of the prime goals of transmission planning is to ensure a fair distribution of economic benefits among the market participants (all those who produce, transmit and consume). These economic benefits attributable to a transmission interconnection generally appear as benefits to an electricity market and are referred to as market benefits. Even from a regulatory perspective, assessment of market benefits of a transmission interconnection is an essential requirement to ascertain its economic value. The market benefit assessment of a transmission interconnector presented in this thesis is specific to the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM) consistent with the regulatory framework in the NEM. This thesis develops a market benefit assessment framework in accordance with Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission (RIT-T) to assess the economic significance of Basslink, one of six inter-regional transmission interconnectors in the Australian NEM. A long-term market benefit modelling framework comprising least cost modelling (LCM) and time sequential modelling (TSM) is developed and applied to undertake modelling of long term market benefits. PLEXOS, a leading power market modelling software is used for this purpose. Economic analysis concludes that the presence of Basslink is of significant economic value in terms of market benefits for the ranges of market development scenarios (MDS) studied.

No description available.

No description available.