A Resource Beyond Firms: Exploring the Role of ‘Stateness’ in Internationalization of State Hybrids

Since state hybrids come in all shapes and sizes, contextual factors are key to analyzing how state ownership affects state hybrids undergoing internationalization. Despite the increasing presence of state hybrids in the global economy, representing 50 percent of global GDP, research on state hybrid internationalization outside China and emerging markets remains scarce and fragmented. Through an in-depth qualitative case study of Ørsted’s groundbreaking offshore wind power project in Taiwan, this paper explores and refines the concept of “stateness” to facilitate a deeper understanding of SOE internationalization. Drawing on resource-based theory and contingency theory, the paper situates stateness as a multifaceted resource empirically illustrated by the electricity industry. Six factors are introduced that can facilitate an assessment of stateness as an advantage or disadvantage for state hybrids. The findings indicate that stateness as a potential, flexible resource can be exploited internally in the firm, but also by external actors. In addition to being shaped by Firm-Specific Advantages, industry, home and host country factors, the findings show that the geopolitical context, often overlooked in international business research, can play a crucial role in internationalization.