Chapter 2　Literature review

2.1　Introduction

This chapter presents a summary of the most relevant prior studies interrelated to the objective and purpose of the study.It considers the fundamental question of what “private firms” and “public firms” are in the first place.Individuals could have different views on essential aspects of what makes a firm “private” or “public”.This could lead to differing views on their EM activities.Following，an in-depth presentation of relevant previous EM research is presented.It starts with the definition and measurement of EM，followed by the introduction of related theories and empirical evidence.Finally，it summarises factors affecting differential EM between private and public firms.