Emerging market state-owned multinationals: a review and implications for the state capitalism debate

Internationalization of state-owned enterprises from emerging markets (EMSOEs) increasingly attracts the attention of scholars and results in an impressive body of research. Chinese state companies are the major focus in this debate. Yet, the conclusions of scholars generate a great variety of theorizing in a field that lacks systematization, which requires an assessment of the existing knowledge and a study of where the field is moving. We review the existing research in top academic journals in international business and strategic management and reveal the two major thematic strands that accommodate the discussion on EMSOEs’ internationalization from 2012 when the topic started receiving much scholarly attention. These are the government’s role in EMSOEs’ internationalization and the diversity of EMSOEs. We present the future prospective topics and questions within the debate on EMSOEs’ internationalization that promise to move the scholarly debate on this phenomenon forward.