Human Capital Structure Upgrading and Corporate Overseas Expansion: Evidence from Chinese A-Share Listed Firms

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_73How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Human capital structure upgrading; Corporate overseas expansion; Outward foreign direct investment; Intellectual capital

Abstract

This paper examines whether upgrading a firm’s human capital structure promotes overseas expansion. Using Chinese A-share listed firms from 2006 to 2024, it measures high-end human capital by the share of employees with master’s or doctoral degrees and captures internationalization through outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). The results show that human capital upgrading does not operate as a cost burden; rather, it significantly increases the scale of corporate overseas investment. The conclusion remains robust after alternative model choices, variable definitions, sample windows and additional controls. Mechanism discussion suggests that highly educated employees help firms obtain financing, identify and hedge cross-border risks, and improve internal governance. The effect is stronger in non-state-owned firms and in eastern and central China, and it is amplified when executives have overseas experience. The study links internal talent structure with international strategy and offers evidence for emerging-market firms seeking sustainable global expansion.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yuefeng Li
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
TI  - Human Capital Structure Upgrading and Corporate Overseas Expansion: Evidence from Chinese A-Share Listed Firms
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 711
EP  - 718
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_73
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_73
ID  - Li2026
ER  -