文化距离和国际直接投资流向:S型曲线假说

Cultural Distance and Foreign Direct Investment Flows:The S-Curve Hypothesis

文化距离和国际直接投资流向的关系一直是学术界研究的热点问题,并且存在着"文化距离悖论"。本文在文化距离所产生的"外来者劣势"和"外来者收益"的基础上建立了新的理论框架,以此来分析文化距离和国际直接投资流向之间的复杂非线性关系。1993-2006年49个世界重要经济体在29个OECD成员国的国际直接投资数据表明,文化距离和国际直接投资流向之间存在着水平S型曲线关系。这一研究结果能够较好地解释文化距离和国际直接投资流向之间的"文化距离悖论"。

In the international business literature, there is a consensus that the primary cost of investing in cultural dissimilar country is stemmed from the liabilities of foreignness. Following this logic, a variety of writers in this literature have empirically tested a linear and negative relationship between cultural distance and foreign direct investment （FDI） flows. However, studies have shown mixed results, thus resulting ＂cultural distance paradox＂. We propose a new theoretical framework including both liability of foreignness and benefit of foreignness for studying the ＂cultural distance paradox＂. Data on 49 important economies investing in 29 OECD countries from 1993 to 2006 show a consistent horizontal S-shaped relationship between cultural distance and FDI flows. Our findings present a reconciliation of ＂cultural distance paradox＂ to a certain extent.