Strategic Management Differences Between Public and Private Firms: How Ownership Shapes Internationalization and Global Competitiveness

Wen Zhao

doi:10.54254/2754-1169/2025.LD29830

Advances in Economics, Management and Political SciencesOpen access

Strategic Management Differences Between Public and Private Firms: How Ownership Shapes Internationalization and Global Competitiveness

Research Article

Open Access

Strategic Management Differences Between Public and Private Firms: How Ownership Shapes Internationalization and Global Competitiveness

Wen Zhao ^1*

¹ University of Bristol

^*Corresponding author: zhaowen2023sh@163.com

Published on 26 November 2025

AEMPS Vol.244

ISSN (Print): 2754-1177

ISSN (Online): 2754-1169

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-563-9

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-564-6

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Abstract

This study investigates how ownership—proxied by listing status—shapes firms’ choices of internationalization strategy, the efficiency of execution, and longer-run outcomes. Focusing on Chinese firms operating under the “dual-circulation” policy setting, we argue that public and private firms face distinct combinations of governance arrangements, resource endowments, and institutional constraints. These differences produce systematic variation in entry modes, pacing, and performance of international expansion. Board characteristics—size, composition, and directors’ backgrounds—offer additional explanatory power for this heterogeneity. Based on these mechanisms, we derive three policy-relevant implications: expand cross-border financing options for non-listed firms to ease capacity and timing constraints; refine evaluation frameworks for state-owned enterprises so that internationalization is assessed on strategic fit and learning outcomes rather than scale alone; and encourage listed firms to commit to longer-horizon internationalization roadmaps to reduce short-termism. Conceptually, the paper places “listing status” as a central institutional variable in the analysis of internationalization and shows that equity structure moderates the interaction between internationalization and innovation.

Keywords:

internationalization, ownership and equity structure, board structure, state ownership, global competitiveness

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References

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References

[1]. Debellis, F., Torchia, M., Quarato, F., & al. (2023). Board openness and family firm internationalization: A social capital perspective. Small Business Economics, 60, 1431–1448.

[3]. Cuervo-Cazurra, A., & Li, C. (2021). State ownership and internationalization: The advantage and disadvantage of stateness. Journal of World Business, 56(1), 101112.

[8]. Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https: //doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108

Cite this article

Zhao,W. (2025). Strategic Management Differences Between Public and Private Firms: How Ownership Shapes Internationalization and Global Competitiveness. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,244,11-17.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of ICFTBA 2025 Symposium: Strategic Human Capital Management in the Era of AI

ISBN: 978-1-80590-563-9(Print) / 978-1-80590-564-6(Online)

Editor: Lukáš Vartiak, Anil Nguyen

Conference website: https://www.icftba.org/London.html

Conference date: 4 November 2025

Series: Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences

Volume number: Vol.244

ISSN: 2754-1169(Print) / 2754-1177(Online)

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