What drives global product integration? An empirical update

Heather Berry () and Aseem Kaul ()
Additional contact information
Heather Berry: Georgetown University
Aseem Kaul: University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

Journal of International Business Studies, 2024, vol. 55, issue 2, No 8, 252-269

Abstract: Abstract In this paper, we revisit the industry-level drivers of global product integration, i.e., cross-border product flows within multinationals. While traditional explanations for these flows have focused on benefits from R&D intensity and scale at the parent level, we examine a more comprehensive set of factors, incorporating recent theoretical advances as well as the changing nature of global competition, and considering both the level and direction of integration. Using comprehensive data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) over the 1999–2019 period, we argue and show that while factors that increase the returns to aggregation or decrease the returns to adaptation tend to raise the overall level of global product integration, factors that increase the returns to arbitrage have a directional impact, raising flows from foreign affiliates. Finally, we make available in this paper our industry-level data on intra-firm product integration, which we call the Global Product Integration Index (GPII), thus offering a valuable resource for future research.

Keywords: global product integration; intra-firm trade; multinationals; technology; scale; global knowledge; offshore outsourcing; foreign competition; foreign rivals; digitization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41267-023-00640-z Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jintbs:v:55:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1057_s41267-023-00640-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... nt/journal/41267/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41267-023-00640-z

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of International Business Studies is currently edited by John Cantwell

More articles in Journal of International Business Studies from Palgrave Macmillan, Academy of International Business
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().