IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jintbs/v51y2020i7d10.1057_s41267-019-00298-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How important is regional vs. global scope? An examination of U.S. multinationals

Author

Listed:
  • Yujin Jeong

    (American University)

  • Jordan I. Siegel

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

Beginning with Rugman and Verbeke (J Int Bus Stud 35(1):3–18, 2004), several international business (IB) scholars have proposed that most large multinationals are not global but regional. This argument has recently been challenged for both its conceptualization and its implementation. We aim to contribute to this debate by revisiting the definitions of regional and global, by leveraging data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis that is new to this literature, and by analyzing multinationals’ scope in terms of both sales and production. We find that U.S. multinationals are significantly more global than has previously been acknowledged in the IB literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Yujin Jeong & Jordan I. Siegel, 2020. "How important is regional vs. global scope? An examination of U.S. multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(7), pages 1142-1160, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jintbs:v:51:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1057_s41267-019-00298-6
    DOI: 10.1057/s41267-019-00298-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41267-019-00298-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41267-019-00298-6?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. Rugman, Alan M. & Verbeke, Alain, 2008. "A regional solution to the strategy and structure of multinationals," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 305-313, October.
    2. 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.
    3. Jonathan Doh & Suzana Rodrigues & Ayse Saka-Helmhout & Mona Makhija, 2017. "International business responses to institutional voids," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 293-307, April.
    4. Gongming Qian & Lee Li & Alan M Rugman, 2013. "Liability of country foreignness and liability of regional foreignness: Their effects on geographic diversification and firm performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(6), pages 635-647, August.
    5. Ricardo Flores & Ruth V Aguilera & Arash Mahdian & Paul M Vaaler, 2013. "How well do supranational regional grouping schemes fit international business research models?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(5), pages 451-474, June.
    6. Jordan I. Siegel & Barbara Zepp Larson, 2009. "Labor Market Institutions and Global Strategic Adaptation: Evidence from Lincoln Electric," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(9), pages 1527-1546, September.
    7. Alain Verbeke & Christian Geisler Asmussen, 2016. "Global, Local, or Regional? The Locus of MNE Strategies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 1051-1075, September.
    8. 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.
    9. Peter J Buckley, 2002. "Is the International Business Research Agenda Running Out of Steam?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(2), pages 365-373, June.
    10. Alan M Rugman & Alain Verbeke, 2007. "Liabilities of regional foreignness and the use of firm-level versus country-level data: a response to Dunning et al. (2007)," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(1), pages 200-205, January.
    11. repec:cup:cbooks:9780521603614 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Pankaj Ghemawat, 2003. "Semiglobalization and international business strategy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(2), pages 138-152, March.
    13. Ram Mudambi & Jonas Puck, 2016. "A Global Value Chain Analysis of the ‘Regional Strategy’ Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 1076-1093, September.
    14. repec:cup:cbooks:9780521842655 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Ram Mudambi & Lee Li & Xufei Ma & Shige Makino & Gongming Qian & Ron Boschma, 2018. "Zoom in, zoom out: Geographic scale and multinational activity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(8), pages 929-941, October.
    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. Gómez-Bolaños, Efrén & Ellimäki, Pia & Hurtado-Torres, Nuria E. & Delgado-Márquez, Blanca L., 2022. "Internationalization and environmental innovation in the energy sector: Exploring the differences between multinational enterprises from emerging and developed countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Ando, Naoki, 2024. "Multinationals’ intraregional geographic expansion and foreign subsidiary performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).

    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. 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.
    2. Raquel García-García & Esteban García-Canal & Mauro F. Guillén, 2019. "International Dispersion and Profitability: An Institution-Based Approach," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(6), pages 855-888, December.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Ram Mudambi & Lee Li & Xufei Ma & Shige Makino & Gongming Qian & Ron Boschma, 2018. "Zoom in, zoom out: Geographic scale and multinational activity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(8), pages 929-941, October.
    6. Dirk Ulrich Gilbert & Patrick Heinecke, 2014. "Success Factors of Regional Strategies for Multinational Corporations: Exploring the Appropriate Degree of Regional Management Autonomy and Regional Product/Service Adaptation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(5), pages 615-651, October.
    7. Alain Verbeke & Régis Coeurderoy & Tanja Matt, 2018. "The future of international business research on corporate globalization that never was…," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1101-1112, December.
    8. Demirbag, Mehmet & Glaister, Keith W. & Sengupta, Abhijit, 2020. "Which regions matter for MNEs? The role of regional and firm level differences," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    9. Mingo, Santiago & Ciravegna, Luciano & Morales, Francisco, 2024. "The impact of experience on the agglomeration of cross-border investments within a region: The case of private equity in emerging markets," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    10. Mark F Peterson & Mikael Søndergaard & Aycan Kara, 2018. "Traversing cultural boundaries in IB: The complex relationships between explicit country and implicit cultural group boundaries at multiple levels," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(8), pages 1081-1099, October.
    11. Andreas P. J. Schotter & Maximilian Stallkamp & Brian C. Pinkham, 2017. "MNE Headquarters Disaggregation: The Formation Antecedents of Regional Management Centers," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(8), pages 1144-1169, December.
    12. Arregle, Jean-Luc & Miller, Toyah L. & Hitt, Michael A. & Beamish, Paul W., 2018. "The role of MNEs’ internationalization patterns in their regional integration of FDI locations," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 896-910.
    13. Oh, Chang Hoon & Kim, Minyoung & Shin, Jiyoung, 2019. "Paths and geographic scope of international expansion across industries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 560-574.
    14. Alain Verbeke & Christian Geisler Asmussen, 2016. "Global, Local, or Regional? The Locus of MNE Strategies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 1051-1075, September.
    15. Ando, Naoki, 2024. "Multinationals’ intraregional geographic expansion and foreign subsidiary performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).
    16. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2022. "Capitalizing on the uniqueness of international business: Towards a theory of place, space, and organization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2050-2067, December.
    17. Lee, In Hyeock (Ian) & Hong, Eunsuk & Shin, Jong Kook, 2023. "Multinational enterprises, intra-regional cross-border M&As, and performance: Location advantages of market versus knowledge," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(6).
    18. Nieto, María Jesús & Rodríguez, Alicia & Hernández, Virginia, 2022. "International sourcing and the productivity of SMEs in transition countries: Formal and informal ‘region effects’ and the communist footprint," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 347-359.
    19. Jean-Luc Arregle & Toyah L Miller & Michael A Hitt & Paul W Beamish, 2016. "How does regional institutional complexity affect MNE internationalization?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(6), pages 697-722, August.
    20. Benjamin Rosa & Philippe Gugler & Alain Verbeke, 0. "Regional and global strategies of MNEs: Revisiting Rugman & Verbeke (2004)," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 0, pages 1-9.

    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:pal:jintbs:v:51:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1057_s41267-019-00298-6. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    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.