A state-market interplay framework for strategic knowledge management in Chinese MNEs
基于150篇文献的系统综述，提出国家-市场互动框架，解释中国跨国公司在国家主导与市场主导逻辑张力下的三种知识管理战略模式及其转换机制，对研究国家资本主义情境下企业知识战略的学者有参考价值。
The internationalization of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) has triggered a rapid rise in research on their knowledge management practices. However, this literature lacks a coherent theory to explain variation in Chinese MNEs’ knowledge management strategies in and over time. In particular, we still lack an understanding of how firms navigate the unique tension between a home-country state-as-strategist and the market-led logic of global competition. To address this theoretical gap, this paper draws on a systematic review of 150 articles to develop a state-market interplay framework for the strategic knowledge management of Chinese MNEs. Our framework explains how the relationship between state-led and market-led logics generates three distinct strategic modes, each with a corresponding dominant knowledge management strategy: (1) Subordinated Interplay emphasizing knowledge acquisition; (2) Conflicting Interplay focused on knowledge transfer; and (3) Integrated Interplay concentrating on global knowledge creation. We also identify firm-level capabilities and external and internal catalysts that influence transitions between modes. The study contributes to International Business theory and the knowledge-based view by offering a typology of state–market interplay in state-capitalist economies and by explaining the institutional contingencies of firms’ knowledge strategies. We conclude by outlining avenues for future research. • Develops a novel “state-market interplay framework” for Chinese MNEs based on a systematic review of 150 studies. • State- vs. market-led logics drive Subordinated, Conflicting, and Integrated modes with distinct knowledge strategies. • Firm-level capabilities and catalysts explain transitions between modes and variations in knowledge strategies over time. • Integrates state-market dynamics to advance International Business theory in state-capitalist contexts.