IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intman/v17y2011i2p143-149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do firms benefit from multinationality through production shifting?

Author

Listed:
  • Fisch, Jan Hendrik
  • Zschoche, Miriam

Abstract

Previous work shows that multinationality creates firm value due to the potential of multiple host countries to provide operational flexibility. This paper examines whether this value effect on the stock market is backed by a profitability effect of exercising operational flexibility through production shifting across countries. Our panel study of German MNCs confirms that production shifting due to local factor cost changes increases the profitability of international production networks. However, the results also suggest that production shifting from countries with rising labor costs to countries with falling labor costs is not prevalent in MNCs and is not related to the number of host countries. Implications for future research are given.

Suggested Citation

  • Fisch, Jan Hendrik & Zschoche, Miriam, 2011. "Do firms benefit from multinationality through production shifting?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 143-149, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intman:v:17:y:2011:i:2:p:143-149
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1075425311000172
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Johny K Johansson & Israel D Nebenzahl, 1986. "Multinational Production: Effect on Brand Value," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 17(3), pages 101-126, September.
    2. Seung-Hyun Lee & Mona Makhija, 2009. "The effect of domestic uncertainty on the real options value of international investments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(3), pages 405-420, April.
    3. Subramanian Rangan, 1998. "Do Multinationals Operate Flexibly? Theory and Evidence," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 29(2), pages 217-237, June.
    4. 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.
    5. René Belderbos & Jianglei Zou, 2007. "On the growth of foreign affiliates: multinational plant networks, joint ventures, and flexibility," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(7), pages 1095-1112, December.
    6. Lilach Nachum & Srilata Zaheer, 2005. "The persistence of distance? The impact of technology on MNE motivations for foreign investment," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 747-767, August.
    7. Masaaki Kotabe & Srini S Srinivasan & Preet S Aulakh, 2002. "Multinationality and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of R&D and Marketing Capabilities," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(1), pages 79-97, March.
    8. Kendall Roth & David M Schweiger & Allen J Morrison, 1991. "Global Strategy Implementation at the Business Unit Level: Operational Capabilities and Administrative Mechanisms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 22(3), pages 369-402, September.
    9. Zahra, Shaker A., 2003. "International expansion of U.S. manufacturing family businesses: the effect of ownership and involvement," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 495-512, July.
    10. John H Dunning, 1980. "Towards an Eclectic Theory of International Production: Some Empirical Tests," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 11(1), pages 9-31, March.
    11. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Donald Gerwin, 1993. "Manufacturing Flexibility: A Strategic Perspective," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(4), pages 395-410, April.
    13. Jane W. Lu & Paul W. Beamish, 2001. "The internationalization and performance of SMEs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 565-586, June.
    14. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    15. Balasubramanian Elango & S. Prakash Sethi, 2007. "An exploration of the relationship between country of origin (COE) and the internationalization-performance paradigm," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 369-392, June.
    16. Charles Y. Tang & Surinder Tikoo, 1999. "Operational flexibility and market valuation of earnings," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(8), pages 749-761, August.
    17. N Capar & M Kotabe, 2003. "The relationship between international diversification and performance in service firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(4), pages 345-355, July.
    18. Tony W Tong & Jeffrey J Reuer, 2007. "Real options in multinational corporations: organizational challenges and risk implications," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(2), pages 215-230, March.
    19. Kendall Roth, 1992. "International Configuration and Coordination Archetypes for Medium-Sized Firms in Global Industries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(3), pages 533-549, September.
    20. Arnd Huchzermeier & Morris A. Cohen, 1996. "Valuing Operational Flexibility Under Exchange Rate Risk," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 44(1), pages 100-113, February.
    21. Sriram Dasu & Lode Li, 1997. "Optimal Operating Policies in the Presence of Exchange Rate Variability," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(5), pages 705-722, May.
    22. Bruce Kogut & Nalin Kulatilaka, 1994. "Operating Flexibility, Global Manufacturing, and the Option Value of a Multinational Network," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(1), pages 123-139, January.
    23. Gongming Qian & Lee Li & Ji Li & Zhengming Qian, 2008. "Regional diversification and firm performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(2), pages 197-214, March.
    24. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tailan Chi & Jing Li & Lenos G Trigeorgis & Andrianos E Tsekrekos, 2019. "Real options theory in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(4), pages 525-553, June.
    2. 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).
    3. Sangcheol Song, 2014. "Subsidiary Divestment: The Role of Multinational Flexibility," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 47-70, February.
    4. Elango, B., 2010. "Influence of industry type on the relationship between international operations and risk," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 303-309, March.
    5. Sangcheol Song, 2013. "FDI Structure, Investment Specificity, and Multinationality Value under Host Market Uncertainty," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 795-817, December.
    6. Boehe, Dirk Michael, 2014. "Strategic hedging: Evidence from Brazilian exporters," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 290-300.
    7. Aabo, Tom & Pantzalis, Christos & Park, Jung Chul, 2016. "Multinationality as real option facilitator — Illusion or reality?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-17.
    8. Bobillo, Alfredo M. & López-Iturriaga, Felix & Tejerina-Gaite, Fernando, 2010. "Firm performance and international diversification: The internal and external competitive advantages," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 607-618, December.
    9. Li, Jing & Rugman, Alan M., 2007. "Real options and the theory of foreign direct investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 687-712, December.
    10. Lee, In Hyeock & Rugman, Alan M., 2012. "Firm-specific advantages, inward FDI origins, and performance of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 132-146.
    11. Shaker A. Zahra, 2020. "Technological capabilities and international expansion: the moderating role of family and non-family firms’ social capital," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 391-415, June.
    12. Song, Sangcheol & Lee, Seung-Hyun & Makhija, Mona, 2015. "Operational hedging in foreign direct investments under volatile and divergent exchange rates across countries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 548-557.
    13. Song, Sangcheol, 2021. "When do multinational corporations adjust production volume flexibly among in-network subsidiaries?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 532-542.
    14. Song, Sangcheol, 2015. "Exchange rate challenges, flexible intra-firm adjustments, and subsidiary longevity," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 36-45.
    15. Song, Sangcheol, 2023. "Multinational operational flexibility, within-network redundancy, and downside risks and divestment rates of international investments," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(1).
    16. 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.
    17. René Belderbos & Tony W. Tong & Shubin Wu, 2020. "Portfolio configuration and foreign entry decisions: A juxtaposition of real options and risk diversification theories," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7), pages 1191-1209, July.
    18. Sangcheol Song, 2015. "Inter-Country Exchange Rates and Intra-Firm Trade Flow Within Global Network of Multinational Corporations," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 1-22, February.
    19. Sangcheol Song, 2017. "Ownership Increase in International Joint Ventures: The Within- and Across-Country Flexibility Perspective," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 93-120, February.
    20. Chris Changwha Chung & Seung-Hyun Lee & Jeoung-Yul Lee, 2013. "Dual-Option Subsidiaries and Exit Decisions During Times of Economic Crisis," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 555-577, August.

    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:intman:v:17:y:2011:i:2:p:143-149. 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/601266/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.