IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v21y2012i3p493-507.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional integration and the international strategies of large European firms

Author

Listed:
  • Oh, Chang Hoon
  • Rugman, Alan M.

Abstract

From the perspective of regional economic integration we decompose international strategy into regional integration strategy and three types of global strategy (global sales, global production, and pure global integration). Using 1100 firm-year observations we find that 60% of the largest European firms pursue a regional integration strategy. We also find that global strategies vary. We examine the firm specific factors that affect global strategies. In general, R&D capability determines a global production strategy, whereas firm size and managerial capability determine both a global sales strategy and a pure global integration strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Oh, Chang Hoon & Rugman, Alan M., 2012. "Regional integration and the international strategies of large European firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 493-507.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:21:y:2012:i:3:p:493-507
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2011.05.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593111001168
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2011.05.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roger Strange & Igor Filatotchev & Yung-chih Lien & Jenifer Piesse, 2009. "Insider Control and the FDI Location Decision," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 433-454, September.
    2. Grosse, Robert, 1992. "Competitive advantages and multinational enterprises in Latin America," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 27-42, August.
    3. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    5. Alan M. Rugman & Alain Verbeke, 2005. "A Perspective on Regional and Global Strategies of Multinational Enterprises," Chapters, in: Analysis of Multinational Strategic Management, chapter 8, pages 104-119, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Cavusgil, S. Tamer, 1984. "Differences among exporting firms based on their degree of internationalization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 195-208, June.
    7. Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal, 1991. "Global strategic management: Impact on the new frontiers of strategy research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(S1), pages 5-16, June.
    8. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 2009. "The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(9), pages 1411-1431, December.
    9. Justina A. V. Fischer & Alfonso Sousa‐Poza, 2009. "Does job satisfaction improve the health of workers? New evidence using panel data and objective measures of health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(1), pages 71-89, January.
    10. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 1991. "The Future of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-21204-0, September.
    11. W H Davidson & Donald G McFetridge, 1985. "Key Characteristics in the Choice of International Technology Transfer Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 16(2), pages 5-21, June.
    12. Kendall Roth & Allen J Morrison, 1992. "Implementing Global Strategy: Characteristics of Global Subsidiary Mandates," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(4), pages 715-735, December.
    13. David J. TEECE, 2008. "TRANSACTIONS COST ECONOMICS AND THE MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE: An Assessment," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 20, pages 427-451, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Thomas Osegowitsch & André Sammartino, 2008. "Reassessing (home-)regionalisation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(2), pages 184-196, March.
    15. Jaideep Anand & Andrew Delios, 1997. "Location Specificity and the Transferability of Downstream Assets to Foreign Subsidiaries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 28(3), pages 579-603, September.
    16. Caves, Richard E, 1971. "International Corporations: The Industrial Economics of Foreign Investment," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 38(149), pages 1-27, February.
    17. Heinz Hollenstein, 2005. "Determinants of International Activities: Are SMEs Different?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 431-450, June.
    18. Jean-François Hennart, 2007. "The theoretical rationale for a multinationality-performance relationship," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 423-452, June.
    19. Michele Fratianni & Chang Hoon Oh, 2009. "Expanding RTAs, trade flows, and the multinational enterprise," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1206-1227, September.
    20. Simon Collinson & Alan M Rugman, 2008. "The regional nature of Japanese multinational business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(2), pages 215-230, March.
    21. Paul Brenton & Francesca Di Mauro & Matthias Lücke, 2014. "Economic Integration and FDI: An Empirical Analysis off Foreign Investment in the EU and in Central and Eastern Europe," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: INTERNATIONAL TRADE, DISTRIBUTION AND DEVELOPMENT Empirical Studies of Trade Policies, chapter 7, pages 125-151, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    22. Hejazi, Walid, 2009. "Does China receive more regional FDI than gravity would suggest?," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 327-335, October.
    23. Sushil Vachani, 1991. "Distinguishing Between Related and Unrelated International Geographic Diversification: A Comprehensive Measure of Global Diversification," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 22(2), pages 307-322, June.
    24. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    25. Sapienza, Harry J. & De Clercq, Dirk & Sandberg, William R., 2005. "Antecedents of international and domestic learning effort," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 437-457, July.
    26. Luis E Lopez & Sumit K Kundu & Luciano Ciravegna, 2009. "Born global or born regional? Evidence from an exploratory study in the Costa Rican software industry," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1228-1238, September.
    27. Thursby, Jerry & Fuller, Anne W. & Thursby, Marie, 2009. "US faculty patenting: Inside and outside the university," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 14-25, February.
    28. Rugman,Alan M., 2005. "The Regional Multinationals," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521842655.
    29. Stephen J. Kobrin, 1991. "An empirical analysis of the determinants of global integration," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(S1), pages 17-31, June.
    30. Wi Saeng Kim & Esmeralda O Lyn, 1990. "FDI Theories and the Performance of Foreign Multinationals Operating in the U.S," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 21(1), pages 41-54, March.
    31. Hashai, Niron & Almor, Tamar, 2004. "Gradually internationalizing 'born global' firms: an oxymoron?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 465-483, August.
    32. Raymond Vernon, 1966. "International Investment and International Trade in the Product Cycle," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 80(2), pages 190-207.
    33. Madsen, Tage Koed & Servais, Per, 1997. "The internationalization of Born Globals: An evolutionary process?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(6), pages 561-583, December.
    34. Yamin, Mohammad & Forsgren, Mats, 2006. "Hymer's analysis of the multinational organization: Power retention and the demise of the federative MNE," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 166-179, April.
    35. Rugman, Alan M. & Oh, Chang Hoon, 2010. "Does the regional nature of multinationals affect the multinationality and performance relationship?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 479-488, October.
    36. Chen, Haiyang & Hu, Michael Y., 2002. "An analysis of determinants of entry mode and its impact on performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 193-210, April.
    37. Canning, David, 1998. "A Database of World Stocks of Infrastructure, 1950-95," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 12(3), pages 529-547, September.
    38. Fang Wu & Rudolf R Sinkovics & S Tamer Cavusgil & Anthony S Roath, 2007. "Overcoming export manufacturers’ dilemma in international expansion," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(2), pages 283-302, March.
    39. Alan M. Rugman & Alain Verbeke, 2005. "Towards a Theory of Regional Multinationals: A Transaction Cost Economics Approach," Working Papers 2005-04, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    40. Sanjeev Agarwal & Sridhar N Ramaswami, 1992. "Choice of Foreign Market Entry Mode: Impact of Ownership, Location and Internationalization Factors," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(1), pages 1-27, March.
    41. Terence Fan & Phillip Phan, 2007. "International new ventures: revisiting the influences behind the ‘born-global’ firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(7), pages 1113-1131, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Oh, Chang Hoon & Sohl, Timo & Rugman, Alan M., 2015. "Regional and product diversification and the performance of retail multinationals," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 220-234.
    2. Pham, Thuy-Dzung T. & Lo, Fang-Yi, 2023. "How does top management team diversity influence firm performance? A causal complexity analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PB).
    3. Elena Beleska-Spasova & Sirinuch Loykulnanta & Quyen T. K. Nguyen, 2016. "Firm-specific, national and regional competitive advantages: The case of emerging market MNEs—Thailand," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(4), pages 264-291, September.
    4. Greene, William H. & Chidlow, Agnieszka & Strange, Roger, 2022. "The use of multinomial choice analysis in international business research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).
    5. Głodowska Agnieszka & Pera Bożena & Wach Krzysztof, 2019. "International Strategy as the Facilitator of the Speed, Scope, and Scale of Firms’ Internationalization," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 27(3), pages 55-84, September.
    6. Alexander Mohr & Georgios Batsakis, 2017. "Internationalization Speed and Firm Performance: A Study of the Market-Seeking Expansion of Retail MNEs," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 153-177, April.
    7. Lo, Fang-Yi & Liao, Pei-Chun, 2021. "Rethinking financial performance and corporate sustainability: Perspectives on resources and strategies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    8. Roxana Wright, 2022. "Subsidiary Activities: Parent Company and Local Predictors of Business Resilience ," GATR Journals jber226, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    9. Xufei Ma & Andrew Delios & Shu Yu, 2020. "Innovation in MNC’S strategy and structure: the (re) emergence of host country headquarters in large emerging markets," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 609-632, September.
    10. Alex Mohr & Georgios Batsakis & Zita Stone, 2018. "Explaining the effect of rapid internationalization on horizontal foreign divestment in the retail sector: An extended Penrosean perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(7), pages 779-808, September.
    11. Lo, Fang-Yi & Fu, Pao-Hung, 2016. "The interaction of chief executive officer and top management team on organization performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2182-2186.
    12. Lee, Jong Min, 2019. "Intra- and inter-regional diversification, subsidiary value chain activities and expatriate utilization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 1-1.
    13. Williams, Christopher & Colovic, Ana & Zhu, Jiqing, 2017. "Integration-responsiveness, local hires and subsidiary performance amidst turbulence: Insights from a survey of Chinese subsidiaries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 842-853.
    14. Lo, Fang-Yi & Lin, Feng-Jyh, 2015. "Advantage transfer on location choice and subsidiary performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1527-1531.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Heechun Kim & Jie Wu & Douglas A. Schuler & Robert E. Hoskisson, 2020. "Chinese multinationals’ fast internationalization: Financial performance advantage in one region, disadvantage in another," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(7), pages 1076-1106, September.
    2. Quyen T. K. Nguyen, 2017. "Multinationality and Performance Literature: A Critical Review and Future Research Agenda," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 311-347, June.
    3. Alan M. Rugman & Alain Verbeke & Quyen T. K. Nguyen, 2011. "Fifty Years of International Business Theory and Beyond," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(6), pages 755-786, December.
    4. de Jong, Gjalt & van Houten, Jerry, 2014. "The impact of MNE cultural diversity on the internationalization-performance relationship," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 313-326.
    5. Suder, Gabriele & Liesch, Peter W. & Inomata, Satoshi & Mihailova, Irina & Meng, Bo, 2015. "The evolving geography of production hubs and regional value chains across East Asia: Trade in value-added," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 404-416.
    6. Oh, Chang Hoon & Sohl, Timo & Rugman, Alan M., 2015. "Regional and product diversification and the performance of retail multinationals," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 220-234.
    7. Youngok Kim & Sidney J Gray, 2017. "Internationalization strategy and the home-regionalization hypothesis: The case of Australian multinational enterprises," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 42(4), pages 673-691, November.
    8. Nguyen, Quyen T.K. & Kim, Sylvia, 2020. "The multinationality and performance relationship: Revisiting the literature and exploring the implications," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    9. Surdu, Irina & Mellahi, Kamel, 2016. "Theoretical foundations of equity based foreign market entry decisions: A review of the literature and recommendations for future research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1169-1184.
    10. Jenny Berrill & Shengkai Sun, 2018. "An Investigation into the Benefits of Investing in Chinese Multinational Companies," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 17(2), pages 186-209, August.
    11. De Maeseneire, Wouter & Claeys, Tine, 2012. "SMEs, foreign direct investment and financial constraints: The case of Belgium," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 408-424.
    12. Bell, J.H.J., 1996. "Joint or Single Venturing? : An Electric Approach to Foreign Entry Mode Choice," Other publications TiSEM 06f84735-3cf5-432f-8bc8-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Madhok, Anoop, 1996. "Know-how-, experience- and competition-related considerations in foreign market entry: An exploratory investigation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 339-366, August.
    14. Lo, Fang-Yi & Lin, Feng-Jyh, 2015. "Advantage transfer on location choice and subsidiary performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1527-1531.
    15. Dzikowski, Piotr, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of born global firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 281-294.
    16. Terence Ping-Ching Fan & Alex Tai Loong Tan, 2015. "How Product Attributes Influence Internationalization: A Framework of Domain- and Culture-Specificity," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 53-76, February.
    17. Aggarwal, Raj & Berrill, Jenny & Hutson, Elaine & Kearney, Colm, 2011. "What is a multinational corporation? Classifying the degree of firm-level multinationality," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 557-577, October.
    18. Francisco García-Lillo & Enrique Claver-Cortés & Bartolomé Marco-Lajara & Mercedes Úbeda-García, 2017. "Mapping the Intellectual Structure of Research on ‘Born Global’ Firms and INVs: A Citation/Co-citation Analysis," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 631-652, August.
    19. Paul, Justin & Gupta, Parul, 2014. "Process and intensity of internationalization of IT firms – Evidence from India," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 594-603.
    20. Knight, Gary A. & Liesch, Peter W., 2016. "Internationalization: From incremental to born global," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 93-102.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:21:y:2012:i:3:p:493-507. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.