JTD Group in Africa

In 2007, JTD Group (JTD) was founded in the port city of Xiamen, China. Within two years, the founder began pursuing business opportunities in Africa. By 2020, JTD owned a 300-square-kilometre stone mine in South Africa. It was one of Africa’s biggest Chinese companies in the stone industry. From 2018, JTD had started to increase its investment in the neighbouring country of Namibia. Despite COVID-19-related challenges, Chinese market demand for stone, especially premium products, was booming in 2020. The founder had been thinking about how to better capture the market opportunity. Many issues needed attention, including the investment decision in Namibia, human resources policy in Africa, and being a responsible community member in both Africa and China.

This case can be used in both undergraduate- and graduate-level international business and strategic management courses. It would best be used to illustrate the internal and external motivations behind company expansions and challenges around CSR and international HRM issues. This case gives students the opportunity to do the following:<ul><li>Understand the motivations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) to expand their operations internationally, and how they do so by choosing a suitable means of internationalization. Consider how these motivations, means, and mentalities collectively influence MNEs’ strategic and organizational capabilities.</li><li>Address questions regarding the most appropriate corporate social responsibility (CSR) stance for JTD. Consider how MNEs align CSR and strategy.</li><li>Develop an effective human resource management (HRM) system to support an MNE’s strategy and operation. Consider how MNEs meet the HRM challenges in a global context in the face of a range of social and cultural distances.</li></ul>

• internationalization
• CSR
• international HRM
• hassle factor
• competitive advantage
• industrial park
• expatriate