Web Domain as a Proxy for Intangibles in Measuring the MNEs’ Internationalization

One of the major shortcoming of the traditional multi-nationality metrics (e.g. TNI and INI) is taking into account mostly tangible and/or financial information, such as employment, assets and revenue. However, as numerous studies suggest the most important role in the firm performance (including the process of internationalization) is contemporarily played by the intangible assets. Hence, the aim of the paper is to propose a new approach of measuring the level of firm international activity by presenting the conceptual framework of the index including intangible assets. For the purposes of the study, the web domain was operationalized as a firm’s intangible asset. Consequently, the paper empirically tests the proposed index on the sample of chosen digital MNEs. It was found that the multi-nationality of corporate web domains is high and geographically dependent. The greatest scores were identified in the group of North American MNEs whereas the lowest in the case of the Asian MNEs. Additionally, there was observed a strong positive impact of web domain internationalization level on the final score of foreign involvement of the studied MNEs. It further leads to the final conclusion stating that the introduction of intangible assets into the common metrics of multi-nationality increases the final score of the internationalization level of firms.