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Internationalization strategy and the home-regionalization hypothesis: The case of Australian multinational enterprises

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  • Youngok Kim

    (School of Management, UNSW Australia Business School, UNSW Sydney, NSW, Australia)

  • Sidney J Gray

    (Discipline of International Business, Business School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Abstract

In this study, we set out to, first, replicate the classification of multinational enterprise (MNE) types proposed by Rugman and Verbeke in the Australian context. Second, we explore how a firm’s international experience influences the degree of its home regionalization and how industry affects the international experience–home regionalization relationship. We find that while home regionalization is still a dominant regionalization strategy for Australian MNEs, the proportions are different from those of Rugman and Verbeke. In particular, the share of home-regional firms is less pronounced and the share of host-regional firms is higher than Rugman and Verbeke’s findings. We also find that a firm’s international experience is negatively related to home regionalization, and that this relationship is further moderated by the firm’s industry. Our findings suggest that more attention be devoted to uncovering both home-country effects and the differential impact of international experience on home regionalization across industries.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:42:y:2017:i:4:p:673-691
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896216679215
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Home-country effect; home regionalization; host regionalization; industry; international experience; regionalization strategy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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