Abstract
Empirical studies on international expansion have shown only limited support for the three-stage (S-curve) hypothesis. Whilst the basic concept is intuitively acceptable, the very generality of the paradigm is its weakness in empirical studies. This paper takes a more fine-grained theoretical and empirical approach by distinguishing between the regions covered by different multinational companies. The regional scope covered by a multinational firm makes a substantial difference with regard to its performance. We find that most firms can enhance their performance by focusing on their home region, whilst only a subset of firms operating in both the home and foreign regions show the overall S-curve relationship between multinationality and performance. Certain combinations of product diversification and regional coverage also enhance performance.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | S42-S59 |
| Journal | British Journal of Management |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | SUPPL.1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2014 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Strategy and Management
- Management of Technology and Innovation