Internationalisation speed and MNE performance: A study of the market-seeking expansion of retail MNEs

Existing research is divided on whether firms that rapidly expand their overseas operations perform better than firms that internationalize slowly. Drawing on Penrose’s theory of the growth of the firm we argue that the positive effects of rapid internationalization give way to negative effects with increasing internationalization speed, leading to an inverted U-shaped association between internationalization speed and firm performance. We analyse the market-seeking expansion of 110 retailers over a 10-year period (2003–2012) and find support for a curvilinear relationship between internationalization speed and firm performance that is moderated by the geographic scope of firms’ internationalization path and firms’ international experience. Our study contributes to resolving conflicting views on the link between internationalization speed and firm performance

Explaining the effect of rapid internationalization on horizontal foreign divestment in the retail sector. An extended penrosean perspective

Building on and extending Penrosean logic we argue that rapid international expansion by firms might lead to a breach of Penrosean constraints on efficient expansion and to subsequent divestment of international operations to bring firm scope back into Penrosean constraints. We further predict that intra-regional concentration and international experience moderate the above effect because they influence firms ability to avoid a breach of Penrosean constraints and/or weaken the consequences of such a breach. Using data on the international expansion and divestment of large retail MNEs over the period 2003-2012 we find empirical support for the proposed extended Penrose effect in explaining international divestment as well as for the moderating effects of intra-regional concentration and international experience. Our study contributes to the development of Penrosean logic and to our understanding of the factors that drive firms to divest overseas operations

Robust image analysis with sparse representation on quantized visual features

10.1109/TIP.2012.2219543IEEE Transactions on Image Processing223860-871IIPR

Non-market strategies within conflicting institutional pressures: The case of western multinationals in a post-socialist context

This chapter investigates how multinational subsidiaries develop political strategies within the conflicting pressures of the host country’s institutional context and the MNE’s parent strategies in a high-risk, emerging market context. The chapter links the literatures on institutional duality and corporate political activity (CPA)corporate political activity (CPA) and makes three distinct theoretical contributions. First, the chapter transfers the analysis of non-market strategies from the institutional to the firm level, by opening the black box of how subsidiaries develop host country strategies. Second, by focusing on the process of how subsidiaries turn external and internal resources into political capabilities, it argues that institutional duality should be viewed as an endogenous aspect of the institutional framework, which equips firms with political capabilities, rather than an exogenous factor that constrains them in the host environment. Third, it contributes to the theory of MNE parent-subsidiary management literature by extending our knowledge on how parent strategies affect the development of subsidiary’s political strategies

Stephen Hymer's contribution to international business scholarship: an assessment and extension

We assess Stephen Hymer's contribution to the theory of the multinational enterprise and to international business (IB) scholarship. We focus on Hymer's evolving analytical framework, and assess it in terms of its internal consistency and in the light of the shifting global landscape and scholarly thinking. We also extend Hymer's framework, revisit his predictions, and conclude by questioning his canonical status within the IB profession. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 167–176. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400328

Internalization and experience: Japanese banks’ international expansion, 1980–1998

We use an interdisciplinary approach to investigate multinational banks’ foreign activities. We bridge core concepts from the stages theory of internationalization to internalization theory, to extend the literature on the defensive expansion hypothesis. Unlike the primarily aggregate levels of analysis employed in previous research on multinational banking, we utilize a firm-level analysis of the internationalization experiences of 21 Japanese banks in the period 1980–1998. We find that banks undertake foreign direct investment to secure internalization benefits by following their existing clients, and to achieve economies of scale in the application of their intangible assets in international markets. The magnitude of these relationships, however, is contingent upon the level of a bank's experience in the host countries. Consistent with predictions from internationalization theory, we find that the motivations for international expansion can change over time. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 231–248. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400317

Real options and foreign affiliate divestments: A portfolio perspective

This paper develops a real options portfolio perspective on foreign affiliate divestments. Affiliates are less likely to be divested in response to adverse environmental change if they represent growth or switch option value to the multinational firm under conditions of macroeconomic uncertainty. However, the affiliate is partially redundant to the option value of the multinational firm's affiliate portfolio if the affiliate shares the manufacturing platform role in the host country with other affiliates, or if macroeconomic conditions of the host country are highly correlated with those of other countries in which the multinational firm operates affiliates. We find strong support for these arguments in tests on a comprehensive sample of 1078 Asian manufacturing affiliates of Japanese electronics multinationals. Journal of International Business Studies (2009) 40, 600–620. doi:10.1057/jibs.2008.108