This study empirically examines the dynamics and conditions of relationship conflict between supervisors and employees in Chinese State-Owned Enterprises. It proposes that relationship conflict has significant effects on leadership in Chinese SOEs, specifically, it threatens leader-member relationships, lowers the possibility of open-minded discussion, influences leadership effectiveness and prevents future collaboration. This study uses Deutsch’s (1973) theory of goal interdependence to understand relationship conflict between supervisors and employees. Specifically, it proposes that three types of goal interdependence affect the experience of relationship conflict and its outcomes. Cooperative goals compare to competitive and independent goals can help reduce relationship conflict between supervisors and employees and in turn lead to quality relationships, open-minded discussions, leader effectiveness, and confidence in future collaboration. A total of 103 face-to-face interviews were conducted in Nanjing and Guangzhou in mainland China, with all the participants from Chinese State-Owned Enterprises. Participants were asked to describe a specific incident in which they engaged in relationship conflict with their supervisors. Details of the incidents including the setting, what occurred, the reasons, and the consequences were also recorded during the interview. Participants also rated specific questions on 7-point Likert-type scale based on the recalled incidents. Results of structural equation modeling and other analyses support the hypotheses and provide statistical evidence to the proposed theoretical model that goal interdependence affects relationship conflict that influence several leadership constructs, named leader-member relationship, open-minded discussion, leadership effectiveness, and future collaboration. The model and the findings also help to broaden understanding of dynamics of relationship conflict and suggest ways it can be alleviated in order to strengthen organizational leadership.

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Even though empirical studies show that political institutions affect various economic policies, standard economic models do not evaluate the effects of government ideology on the performance of state firms. I argue that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are more efficient under center-right governments, while state firms under center-left cabinets show weaker performance. A modified Stackelberg oligopoly competition model that analyzes the proposed connection is developed. I, then, test implications from the model empirically using the case of Lithuania.

The People’s Republic of China (“China”) claims absolute immunity for itself but embraces a concept of state for immunity purposes that excludes state-owned enterprises (“SOEs”). This position has led to confusion and frustration in international litigation against China and Chinese SOEs, particularly when massive Chinese foreign investments are led by SOEs, including those made under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Yet, the immunity status of Chinese SOEs is unclear. Against this backdrop, this thesis examines Chinese SOEs’ ability to claim sovereign immunity under the customary international law of restrictive immunity as expressed and built on in the 2004 United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property (“UNCSI”), the 1976 United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“US FSIA”) and the 1978 United Kingdom State Immunity Act (“UK SIA”). In investigating the immunity status of the 97 SOEs in which the Chinese central government has direct and full/majority ownership, this thesis answers two questions: (1) under what circumstances would these 97 Chinese SOEs be treated as part of the state for immunity purposes under the UNCSI, the US FSIA and the UK SIA; and (2) under what circumstances would these 97 Chinese SOEs attract jurisdictional and execution immunities thereunder. A critical part of this analysis involves developing an understanding of Chinese SOEs’ dual identity as defined by the Chinese political economy. Chinese SOEs’ dual identity has two levels of meaning. First, it reflects the fact that some Chinese SOEs are categorized as commercial SOEs and others are categorized as public welfare SOEs in the current SOE reform. Secondly, commercial Chinese SOEs have a dual identity, i.e., a commercial and a sovereign aspect in their operations. While commercial SOEs’ primary goal is to pursue commercial interests, they also implement the state’s social, political, and economic policy goals. This sovereign aspect—primarily reflected as the sovereign purpose in their commercial transactions—adds complexity, but is necessary, to our assessment of Chinese SOEs’ “state” status and immunity under the customary international law of sovereign immunity. The three regimes studied in this thesis—the UNCSI, the US FSIA, and the UK SIA—not only take distinctive approaches toward the definition of the state, but also to the commercial exceptions to jurisdictional immunity and execution immunity. Their different analytical frameworks take us to different conclusions about Chinese SOEs’ “state” status and immunity in some cases. Under the UNCSI and the UK SIA, in principle, Chinese SOEs are unlikely to acquire “state” status to claim immunity in their commercial capacity, and consequently, unable to attract jurisdictional immunity and execution immunity for their assets as separate entities. But public welfare SOEs and some commercial SOEs can potentially attract jurisdictional immunity and execution immunity for their assets because to the extent that the purposes of their conduct—which are often related to inherently sovereign functions like the military or the public welfare—are considered in the overall context, the nature of the commercial transaction could be converted into a sovereign one. Under the US FSIA, Chinese SOEs—either commercial or public welfare ones—are state agencies/instrumentalities for immunity purposes, thus, have “state” status. But, in contrast with the UNCSI and the UK SIA, Chinese SOEs are less likely to attract jurisdictional immunity for their commercial activities or execution immunity for their assets under the US FSIA because the US statute applies a broad commercial exception that only considers the nature of the conduct in characterizing whether a transaction is a commercial one. This thesis’s investigations and conclusions have commercial, sovereign, and policy implications for Chinese SOEs’ international business transactions, China’s sovereign immunity position, and litigation involving China and Chinese SOEs in jurisdictions where restrictive immunity is upheld. First, in commercial terms, the analysis in this thesis will better enable commercial parties and states that have commercial relations with Chinese SOEs to understand the dual identity of Chinese SOEs defined by the Chinese political economy and understand under what circumstances Chinese SOEs can potentially attract jurisdictional and execution immunities. Second, in sovereign terms, my research enables states to assess their diplomatic and economic relationships with China from a foreign relations law perspective as China asserts absolute immunity in foreign domestic courts. As this thesis suggests, litigation against China and its emanations and execution against their assets in states where restrictive immunity is applied could give rise to sensitive political clashes in light of China’s absolute immunity position. The ongoing pandemic litigation between the State of Missouri and China in the US court is an example. In line with its practice, China refused to appear in this and other similar cases. My thesis work could provide legal researchers and practitioners with a better informed legal perspective on these highly political disputes. Third, in policy terms, my Chapter on China’s sovereign immunity and my findings that some commercial and public welfare SOEs can potentially attract jurisdictional and execution immunities under the UNCSI and the UK SIA provide China some reasons to not only embrace restrictive immunity but to clarify the definition of the state for immunity purposes thereunder. Ratifying the UNCSI, in my view, would allow China’s position to conform to international law on the one hand; and allow China to contribute to the development of the law of sovereign immunity on the other hand.

This thesis examines the rising phenomenon of the internationalisation of Chinese firms, and aims to shed new light on our understanding of the emergence of firms from emerging economies in the global market. It consists of two parts: the country level study and the firm level. The former identifies the domestic and locational determinants of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), while the latter examines the influence of dynamic capabilities and institutions on the post-internationalisation performance of Chinese firms, with a focus on state-owned enterprises (SOEs). To explore the domestic and locational determinants of Chinese OFDI, the thesis integrates network theory with the traditional explanations of OFDI, the investment development path and the eclectic paradigm. By doing so, a new factor, human mobility, is identified as one of the important domestic and locational determinants of Chinese OFDI. Drawing upon a time series data analysis for the period 1979-2007, this study confirms that Chinese OFDI is driven by its domestic economic development, human mobility and knowledge development and accumulation, and it has a substitute relationship with exports. By examining Chinese OFDI flows to 13 OECD countries over the period 1999-2007, it is shown that human mobility, the strategic assets of the host country, foreign direct investment to China and cultural distance have a positive impact on the locational choice of Chinese OFDI to OECD countries. To investigate the influence of dynamic capabilities and institutions on the post-internationalisation performance of Chinese firms, this study integrates the dynamic capability framework and the institution-based view, and embeds the analysis in a multi-perspective conceptual framework. It draws on four case studies of Chinese SOEs. The analysis shows the importance of internal dynamic capabilities in achieving overseas success when dealing with changing environments. The managerial mindset has a moderate effect on the impact of dynamic capabilities on post-internationalisation performance. The case analysis also shows how the external institutional environment of both host and home countries influence the performance of Chinese SOEs. ii Support from both host and home country governments, unsurprisingly, has a positive influence on performance. However, too much intervention from the home country government imposes constraints on the firms and reduces their willingness to commit to internationalisation. This thesis makes a number of contributions to the existing literature. First, it provides a better understanding of the overall picture of Chinese OFDI from the macro perspective. The findings also contribute to our understanding of the rise of OFDI from emerging economies in general and from China in particular. Second, a new factor, human mobility, is identified and proved to be significant in determining Chinese OFDI. In this era of globalisation, human mobility has become the driving force of OFDI from emerging economies. Third, a first step is taken towards exploring the influence of both internal and external factors on the post-internationalisation performance of Chinese firms. In order to achieve overseas success, not only do Chinese firms need to improve their internal dynamic capabilities, but also attention needs to be paid to the external institutional environment, which has a significant impact on the performance of Chinese firms pursuing overseas success.

Over the last three decades of the Chinese economic reform with a focus on the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) restructuring, one striking phenomenon is the rise of the mixed ownership enterprises (MOEs) in China. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the factors that can explain the emergence and the rise of the MOEs, to explore the corporate governance of the MOEs, and to assess the performance of the MOEs. The research finds that the unique experiments and practices of China’s SOEs reform in the past 30 years have formed the China Model of SOEs reform, China’s mixed ownership has its roots in the China Model. One major explanation to the rise of the MOEs is the synergy effect gained from the combination of the different advantages of both the private enterprises and the state enterprises. The private enterprises have better operational mechanisms and the state enterprises have better access to business resources and political support. The thesis has looked at 5 issues of the institutional arrangements of MOE’s corporate governance, named as the SCORE. It is found that the largest shareholder in most of the MOEs is still the state, but the control structure is not always corresponding to the shareholding structure, and the governmental intervention in the business of the MOEs has been reduced although the reduction is limited. The thesis shows that there is no noted relationship between corporate performance and mixed ownership, but the transfer of corporate controlling powers is very important for the ownership-transformed companies from whole ownership to mixed ownership to improve the performance. On this basis, the thesis argues that China needs to push forward the further commercialization of the corporate governance of the MOEs in the future

SMME targeted procurement policies in South Africa gets swapped and changed every couple of years before they take hold and assessed against initially set desired outcomes, this makes them unsustainable. As such, it has become necessary for research to be undertaken to investigate those SMMEs that do business with State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), with the aim of establishing whether the preferential procurement policies are supportive of the growth and sustainability of their businesses. The study also sought to further ascertain whether the targeted procurement policies are achieving the objectives they were created for in the first place, which is to promote growth and empowerment through the growing of the SMME businesses or are they non-responsive. Lastly, this study intended to understand whether the continued swapping and changing of the targeted procurement policies is resulting in their unsustainability to grow a sustainable SMME sector in South Africa which in turn raises a question of whether the designing and implementation of these policies is well informed by the actual challenges bedevilling the sector to be able to address these challenges on the ground. The study was a qualitative study that enabled the expression and description of feelings and opinions regarding whether the targeted policies had achieved their objectives and the concerns respondents would express. From the data was collected through interviews, the respondents indicated that the policies were theoretical and do not address the actual challenges that bedevil small businesses in South Africa. If anything, the policies have not attained their set objectives of growing and empowering SMMEs but rather made doing and growing their businesses difficult due to an unfriendly business environment. In addition, high taxes, inflexible labour laws, access to finance, inability to market their companies and products, delayed payments for services rendered are some of the problems faced by SMMEs. The SMME sector is dwindling, the small businesses are folding, and the targeted policies have proved unsustainable. Based on the findings of this study the targeted procurement policies needs to be reviewed and in certain instance overhauled to improve their efficacy. Policymakers need to establish forums where small business raise their concerns, shortcomings of the policies and put forward their ideas of making the policies more beneficial to them. There is a great need to also identify and address impediments pertaining to the operating environment and make it truly pro SMMEs.

Orientation: Excessive and unjustifiable salaries in State Owned Enterprises (SOE’s) have captured the spotlight in recent years. Some employee motivation theorists and recent studies have shown that non monetary rewards are also important when considering the total rewards mix for employees. Research purpose: The primary aim of this study was to survey the perceptions of SOE employees’ of whether they would work harder, have increased motivation levels and remain longer in a company if compensated with higher monetary rewards. The secondary aim was to establish whether different demographic variables have an effect on employees ’perceptions of whether their motivation levels would increase with higher monetary rewards. Motivation for the study: An understanding of these perceptions would enhance knowledge when developing effective reward systems in SOE’s within the South African context.Research design, approach and method: 1000 questionnaires were distributed to SOE employees via the hand delivery and e-mail method. The results from 143 questionnaires were used in the data analyses.Main findings/results: The study found that overall the SOE employees preferred higher monetary rewards and would work harder, be more motivated and stay longer in the company as a result. However, when measured individually, certain non monetary rewards were preferred over receiving higher monetary rewards. The findings also indicate that significant differences exist for the demographic variables, age and grade. Practical/Managerial implications: SOE management can structure reward systems more effectively according to these findings without focussing primarily on money. Based on the research results, an increased understanding of SOE employee’s perception of what motivates them has been achieved. Contribution/value-add: This study has contributed to the body of existing knowledge on employee motivation and its relationship with total rewards within SOE’s in South Africa. In addition, the study has demonstrated that reward preferences differed between certain demographic groups within SOE’s. A total rewards framework, on employee preferences could be designed from the findings. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The purpose of this exploratory research was to explore the effect of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on State Owned Enterprises’ performance in South Africa. The aim of the study was to establish the impact that KPIs have on state owned enterprises, how they are currently measured and the causes of success or failure of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on State Owned Companies.Fifteen respondents participated in this qualitative study. The survey method used was a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. The respondents were all Senior Executives including Chief Executive Officers, General Managers, Board Members and Senior Management employed by State Owned Enterprises reporting to the Department of Public Enterprises, Department of Transport and Department of Water Affairs. The research instrument that was used was a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted