The Role of Local Actors in the Implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative: the Example of the Italian Port System

53 Pages Posted: 2 Sep 2021

See all articles by Cristian Luise

Cristian Luise

Ca Foscari University of Venice - Department of Management

Peter J. Buckley

University of Leeds - Faculty of Business; University of Leeds - Division of International Business

Hinrich Voss

University of Bristol Business School; HEC Montreal - Department of International Business

Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Elisa Barbieri

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: August 31, 2021

Abstract

Infrastructural assets are vital for a country’s economic and social development. Governments typically provide the regulation and administration of these assets, while multinational enterprises (MNEs) develop, construct, finance, and operate them. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises infrastructure projects that deliver economic and social benefit for both the host country and the MNE. We argue that BRI objectives and project scope are kept in check in the host country through an existing nexus of property rights. Chinese investors need to understand the bargaining position and property rights actors across multiple levels, across space, and be mindful of changes over time when negotiating for an infrastructure investment. We interrogate four case studies of Chinese investment negotiations in Italian ports to explore the conceptual framework and to examine how the negotiation process evolved following BRI.

Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative, infrastructure, FDI policy, emerging market multinationals, contract theory, Italy, ports, case study.

JEL Classification: F23

Suggested Citation

Luise, Cristian and Buckley, Peter Jennings and Voss, Hinrich and Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella and Barbieri, Elisa, The Role of Local Actors in the Implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative: the Example of the Italian Port System (August 31, 2021). Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia Working Paper No. 7, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3914766 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3914766

Cristian Luise (Contact Author)

Ca Foscari University of Venice - Department of Management ( email )

San Giobbe, Cannaregio 873
Venice, 30121
Italy

Peter Jennings Buckley

University of Leeds - Faculty of Business ( email )

Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom

University of Leeds - Division of International Business ( email )

Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom

Hinrich Voss

University of Bristol Business School ( email )

University of Bristol,
Senate House, Tyndall Avenue
Bristol, Avon BS8 ITH
United Kingdom

HEC Montreal - Department of International Business ( email )

Canada

Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Elisa Barbieri

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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