Calls for Papers Management and Organization Review Special Issue on ‘Building Competitive Advantages in China’s Emerging Market’ Guest Editors: Seung Ho Park, CEIBS Robert E. Hoskisson, Arizona State University Tailan Chi, University of Kansas Submission Deadline: September 1, 2005 In recent years China has become an important location for foreign direct investment. In fact, China has recently surpassed the U.S. as the largest recipient of foreign direct invest- ment in the world. It is now estimated that there are over 450,000 foreign investment pro- jects operating in China. It is no overstatement that almost every major foreign firm is operating in all segments of the Chinese market. Foreign firms continue to be a primary source of advanced technology, managerial capabilities, and financial resources for local companies. While there continues to be a euphoria regarding investment in China, there also has been an increasing recognition that competing and surviving in the Chinese market is not that easy. While one may expect a market of 1.3 billion people, the Chinese markets in most segments are highly fragmented, complex, uncertain, and fast changing. Within a short period of time, local firms have also emerged as strong competitors against foreign firms. Local firms have been rapidly accumulating resources and capabilities, nar- rowing the gap with foreign firms. The market is also filled with various types of local competitors who follow very different approaches in the market, such as traditional state-owned enterprises, newly emerging entrepreneurial private firms, and collectively- owned township and village enterprises. This is a competitive situation that is highly unusual for foreign entrants in terms of its complexity and dynamics. There are direct con- frontations among foreign firms, between foreign firms and locals, and also among local firms. The Chinese market also offers a unique research location given the large number of foreign and local firms. This special issue focuses on the market competition and firm strategies in the Chinese market. In particular, we welcome studies that address the nature of competition and competitive dynamics in the Chinese market. There has been a dramatic change in com- petitive dynamics in China, from simple interactions between local firms and foreign imports in the early 1990s to complex multi-layered interactions among various types of competitors in recent years. Also, it is important to understand how companies in China operate to build and sustain their competitive advantages. Foreign firms’ initial dominance has slowly been eroding. What can they do to sustain their early leadership? How can they combine their global strengths with local differentiation? Local firms at the moment are also searching for new directions to develop advantages over other local competitors and