英國dissertation網 本人專業: International Business Management
dissertation題目：The entry of PepsiCo in the Chinese market: challenges and process of adaptation
字數：20000字
語種：英語
留學生dissertation網 所在國家/學校： 英國 / university of surrey
May 10th

In addition, I would like to draw your attention to five journals that are particularly relevant in the field of International Business.

- Journal of International Business Studies

- Journal of International Management

- International Business Review

- Journal of World Business

- Management International Review

Since you are students in the International Business Programme, your topic should also be in the area of International Business. Therefore, your literature review should also include articles from one or more of the above-mentioned journals.

I’ve read your research proposal and I’m sorry to say that it is not viable in this form.

1 Your research objectives are very broad and ambitious: you plan to identify the corporate culture of Pepsi-China, the key behaviours of Pepsi in China, the outcomes of Pepsi behaviour in China (all outcomes of Pepsi’s behaviour?), how the corporate culture is linked to the company’s behaviour as well as how the corporate culture benefits or harms Pepsi’s operations in China. This is completely unrealistic for a dissertation project, in which you have approximately four weeks time to collect your data. Your plan to conduct a quantitative as well as a qualitative analysis aggravates this problem.

2 Furthermore, you merely mention in your proposal that you plan to conduct a survey. But there is no information about your sample size, the method you will use to select your sample, the likely response rate, potential independent and dependent variables. Since a qualitative approach is more suitable for a cultural analysis, my recommendation is to employ only a qualitative approach.

3 It is not clear from your proposal, if you have the permission to conduct interviews at Pepsi-China. This is also an important issue.

My suggestion is that you conduct 4 to 5 interviews at China-Pepsi (and no survey). You could analyse which problems Pepsi faced when they entered the Chinese market and to what extent and in which way they had to adapt to the local culture. Then you still have a cultural dimension in your dimension.

May 11th

Just to sum up our meeting:

We've agreed on the topic "The entry of PepsiCo in the Chinese Market: Challenges and Processes of Adaptation"

You are going to conduct at least (!) three telephone interviews and complement it with secondary data.

The next step is to conduct a literature review (experiences of other foreign MNEs that entered the Chinese market; theoretical approaches and conceptual frameworks that are relevant for your research topic, International Marketing, cultural differences between China and the USA, Geert Hostede could be also helpful in this respect).#p#分頁標題#e#

In the introduction you also have to outline, in which way your topic is new (not just a replication of already existing research or well-established ideas) and interesting from both an academic and a practitioner perspective.

Your dissertation project should not be merely descriptive but also seek for explanation.

Good luck with your project.

LR FeedBack

Dear Luo,
I’ve read your literature review and I would like to give you some feedback. First of all, (including your research question), I could have given you better feedback (then it is easier to evaluate the coherence, if you had sent me your introduction chapter. But I can also give you feedback to this single chapter.
To start with, I have to say that this so-called “literature review” is insufficient and not really a literature review. We’ve agreed on the research objective which problems Pepsi faced when they entered the Chinese market and to what extent and in which way they had to adapt to the local culture (and also which factors influence these adaptation processes). This is also reflected in the title of your document. But your literature review hardly relates to this research question. Instead, you start this chapter by outlining different forms of entering a foreign market. But since your research topic is focused on Pepsi’s processes of cultural adaptation after they entered the Chinese market, this is not the most relevant literature for your topic. Instead, you should focus on the body of literature that deals with the question how MNCs have to adapt their behaviour, processes, etc. when they enter markets with a very difficult cultural background (your section on localization is a step in the right direction, but too vague and only based on an internet source). In this regard, you should have a look the “hybridization theory” (Richard Boyer and Florian Becker-Ritterspach are two relevant authors in this discussion). Here, you should also find conceptual frameworks that you can use or further develop for your dissertation. This is very relevant for your literature review and at the end of this chapter you should have a conceptual framework which guides your empirical analysis.
Furthermore, you haven’t analyzed in your chapter the extant empirical literature with regard to your research question. What kind of empirical analyses have been already conducted about cultural adaptations processes of MNEs in China or other developing countries with different cultural backgrounds. This is very important for your literature review, because you have to identify a research gap. You have to show in which way your research topic is new and interesting. The identification of a research gap will also help you to sharpen your research question and to decide on which dimension – marketing or human resources or something else – you want to focus in your analysis.
Furthermore, the PEST analysis is a very general tool. I recommend to develop/use a conceptual framework that is more tailored to your research question. And the SWOT analysis is not very helpful for your dissertation project since it is used for strategy development. Finally, background information to Pepsi is useful for your dissertation but should not be part of your literature review. #p#分頁標題#e#
To sum up, you have to review the literature that is really relevant to your research question. What do we already know about the adaptation processes of MNEs in China (empirical studies, conceptual frameworks, theoretical approaches)? You have to identify a research gap on which you will focus in your dissertation and use a conceptual framework. You could also formulate propositions at the end of your literature review. I hope this helps. If you have questions, please ask.

Jun 24th

It is important that you start to rewrite your your research objective prior to our meeting. In my mail from May (see below) I provides you with several suggestions. My recommendation as guiding research question/objective is: To what extent and why had Pepsi to change their products and branding after their market entry in China (and are there theories that help to explain this?). In addition, you could use following bodies of literature important for your research question (experiences of other foreign MNEs that entered the Chinese market, International Marketing (just have a look in an International Business textbook), cultural differences between China and the USA, Geert Hostede could be also helpful with regard to cultural differences). But don't spend too much time on introduction and literature review. You are seriously behind schedule and you should start your method section soon. (particularly about your questionnaire).