Exploring Chinese cross-border acquisition into the USA: a critical discourse analysis

Abstract

This research studies the ever increasing Chinese firms' cross-border acquisition activities from a discourse perspective. There is hardly any literature that critically examines public accounts on business management issues relating to China. Further, academic publications focusing on Chinese cross-border acquisitions utilizing a critical approach are even rarer. In contributing to the acquisition literature, this research explores the following question: "What insight can be gained from a critical discourse analysis perspective on a Chinese organization's cross-border acquisition?" This research investigates the cross-border acquisition of US-IBM's Personal Computer Division (PCD) by Chinese PC firm, Lenovo. The research is based on data taken from public accounts of the acquisition, including publications on the two organizations' official websites and 290 media news/reports/commentaries. It explores interdiscursivity, ideology, as well as the power and hegemonic dynamics of the acquisition discourse. This research begins with an overview of the literature on acquisition and discourse analysis. It moves on to examine the theoretical assumptions of critical discourse analysis on cross-border acquisition from public accounts. The theoretical framework of this research is then developed. It involves two steps: producing insight and producing critique. The 'producing insight' step analyses discursive themes and unpacks the interdiscursivity between themes. The 'producing critique' step aims to surface ideologies and hegemonic power relations embedded in the discourse. This research identifies four main discursive themes which resonate with previous acquisition literature, namely: Rationalistic, Nationalistic, Cultural, and Emotive. The research also finds that the main discursive themes and their sub-themes can be studied at three different analytical levels: the organizational, industrial, and national levels. The interdiscursivity between the four discursive themes is examined from "sequential" and "embedded" interdiscursive categories. On the one hand, discursive themes are inter-linked into an interdiscursive "net" sequentially through common analytical levels; on the other hand, "red" and "blue" two metaphorical symbols contain different discursive themes and form embedded interdiscursivity. This research identifies two ideologies invested in the acquisition discourse: Neo-liberalist and Cold War ideology. Neo-liberalist ideology has been further divided into two sub-ideologies: Social Darwinism and Globalism. The research also finds that power issues in the discourse can be studied at three different analytical levels relating to ideology, hegemony, discourse accessibility and interdiscursivity. At the intra-organizational analytical level, the research proposes that organizational employees' access to the acquisition discourse might be controlled and eliminated by management. This forms management hegemony. At the organizational analytical level, the "collective will" of adopting US corporate management philosophy/culture constructs a "reversed" hegemonic relationship in the acquisition: although it is Lenovo acquiring IBM PCD, IBM PCD obtains the dominating position. At the national analytical level, a "strategic interdiscursivity map" is constructed. Using the "map", three strategic sequential interdiscursive relationships are discussed. It is argued that China's cross-border acquisition uncovers an internal conflict within the ideological system in Western world, especially in the US. And the research also suggests that the acquisition might be read as China's power struggle against America's global economic and political hegemony. In conclusion, this research's theoretical and practical contributions are discussed and future research possibilities are proposed.