Emerging market multinational companies and internationalization: the role of home country urbanization

Saul Estrin, Bo B. Nielsen and Sabina Nielsen

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We develop a multilevel theoretical framework for investigating the role of home country urbanization for emerging market multinational companies' (EMNCs) international expansion. We propose that more urbanized home environments directly increase EMNC's proclivity to internationalize and moderate the effects of firm intangible and tangible resources. The empirical counterpart studies 592 EMNCs from 18 different countries in 2010 and an unbalanced panel of a subsample of these firms over the period 2006–2010. Our hypotheses are confirmed in both datasets. We find that while urbanization complements firm financial resources when expanding abroad, it appears to substitute to some extent for internal R&D capabilities. Our findings further our understanding of the drivers of internationalization of EMNCs.

Keywords: Emerging market multinationals; Internationalization; Home country effects; Urbanization; Financial strength; Cross-classified; Multilevel modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J50 N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-09-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec and nep-cse
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

Published in Journal of International Management, 1, September, 2017. ISSN: 1075-4253

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:68350

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