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The purpose of this study is to investigate the multinationality‐performance (M‐P) relationship in the context of US biopharmaceutical small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

The study examines the M‐P relationship of SMEs from a single home country and in a specific industry.

The paper finds that geographic dispersion of both foreign subsidiaries and alliances affects SME performance negatively, albeit to a varying extent. Firm‐specific technological advantages alleviate the negative impact of geographic dispersion of both foreign subsidiaries and alliances, whilst firm‐specific marketing advantages mitigate the negative effect of only geographic dispersion of foreign alliances. The paper also addresses the direct and joint effects of firm‐specific advantages, country‐specific advantages, and the degree of internalization on SME performance systematically. Further, the results reveal some interesting differences between the venturing and the development stage of SME internationalization.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, there have been virtually no studies on the M‐P relationship which attempt to distinguish between subsidiary‐ and alliance‐based internationalization.

This paper aims to clarify the fit of competitive strategies and firm-specific advantages (FSAs) with country-specific advantages (CSAs) in explaining manufacturing location choices at product category level in the European automotive industry.

Seven hypotheses are formulated and tested using binomial logistic regression with data from 148 passenger car models (i.e. product category level) that are sold in Europe and manufactured in countries that offer CSAs of either cost advantages or differentiation advantages. The first four hypotheses test manufacturing location choices of product categories pursuing cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, focus strategy and hybrid strategy. The other three hypotheses test whether FSAs of R&D capability, marketing capability and operations capability will impact on the manufacturing location choice. The tests control for the type of passenger cars as well as the manufacturer’s region of origin.

While pursuing cost leadership strategy leads to manufacturing in countries that offer cost advantages, pursuing differentiation strategy as well as strong R&D capability and marketing capability result in manufacturing in countries that offer differentiation advantages. Focus strategy, hybrid strategy and operations capability do not have an impact on the manufacturing location choice at product category level.

Conducting empirical research at product category level is subject to limitations in the choices of FSAs due to lack of availability of data.

Managers should assess the competitive strategies and FSAs of their product categories and then decide about manufacturing locations based on their fit with host country CSAs. Policymakers should understand the CSAs of their countries and target to attract manufacturing FDI from product categories with matching competitive strategies and FSAs.

The research contributes to discussions in explaining manufacturing location choices. Its originality lies in being the first study to test the fit of competitive strategies and FSAs of product categories with CSAs.

A significant stream of literature focuses on host countries’ locations when explaining why firms internalize some of their activities in specific countries. At first glance, home location schemes and specificities seem to have attracted less attention in the scientific community. The purpose of this contribution is to provide a literature review linked to the specific issue of emerging countries’ country-specific advantages and the competitiveness of emerging market multinational enterprises.

The approach is to present the main theoretical developments related to the role of home countries in the internationalization process of domestic firms in general and as far as the home context of emerging countries is concerned.

A rigorous analysis of the literature shows that theoretical developments and empirical studies on international business do refer explicitly or at least implicitly to the role of home countries in the international expansion of firms.

The value of this review is to develop the main streams of the literature and to serve as a basis for the other contributions published in this area.

The author contributes to the theory of the multinational enterprise by examining subsidiary-specific capability in financial management, defined as the stock of knowledge and capability to plan, manage, control and direct financial resources effectively and efficiently, and the perceptions of subsidiary managers of host country financial development as drivers of export intensity (the share of sales that are exported) of foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs). The author theorizes that subsidiary-specific capability in financial management is conceptually a valuable subsidiary-specific advantage and it is as important as other traditional competitive advantages, such as research and development and marketing intensity. Perceptions of subsidiary managers of host country financial development are argued to be largely related to the characteristics of the host country-specific advantages.

The author uses a survey dataset of the foreign subsidiaries of Western multinational enterprises (MNEs) together with other public data sources.

The author provides empirical evidence to support for these arguments that export intensity of MNE foreign subsidiaries depends on subsidiary-specific advantages and host country specific advantages.

The study broadens the understanding of the relationships between subsidiary-specific advantage in financial management, host country specific advantage, and export intensity of MNE foreign subsidiaries. In this way, the author makes an original contribution to new internalization theory by emphasizing the internal capability building of subsidiaries. The author discusses the implications of the findings for MNE foreign subsidiary managers, and policy makers because exporting is critical to the overall strategy of foreign subsidiaries, and it also contributes to the balance of trade and economic development of host countries where foreign subsidiaries operate.

This paper aims to examine the global competitiveness of an emerging market multinational (EMM) from China through the case of a major European acquisition, in Italy, in the heavy construction industry. Country- and firm-specific factors are considered. Horizontal integration in this oligopolistic industry changes the industry dynamics, with significant implications for its players.

The paper follows case study methodology and triangulates data through a literature review, an examination of available company data and interviews of key personnel. Firm- and country-specific factors, both advantages and disadvantages, including the business environment in the construction industry, globally and regionally, are analyzed.

The paper identifies several key success factors at the firm level, including the integration of research and development, marketing and sales; the development of extensive communication and trust among the managers of both companies; the exploitation of the Chinese market as a source of demand; and the shifting of selected production lines to the Chinese market.

The traditional models of country-specific advantages/disadvantages and firm-specific advantages/disadvantages are augmented by examining the host market and industry task environments. Host country-specific factors for successful integration include favorable local conditions, both in terms of endowments and institutions, and an industrial cluster with supporting firms and services.

Following the case study, managers can refer to the key success factors to emulate “best practices”. The paper concludes with a heuristic developed by the Chairman of Zoomlinon, Chunxin Zhan, underlining five principles for a successful EEM acquisition: understanding, sharing, responsibility, compliance and coordination.

This paper develops a deep case study analysis and provides useful theoretical and practical implications with reference to Chinese acquisition in the Western markets.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how innovation-related firm-specific ownership advantage (FSA) plays a role in developing the competitive advantage of Chinese multinationals when they internationalize.

Based on a review of the existing literature concerning foreign direct investment by emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs), the authors identify that numerous studies explain this phenomenon on the basis of their location-bound country-specific advantages. However, such views do not fully explain the key underlying factors behind the rapid rise and success of many EMNEs as these firms rapidly internationalize and develop global competitiveness in developed markets. The current research explores three leading innovative Chinese EMNEs from the engineering sector: BYD, Sany Heavy Industry and CSR China.

The authors find that EMNEs’ knowledge, and particularly their innovation-creating technological knowledge, has contributed greatly to their successful internationalization. The illustrative cases show that the three firms have now moved beyond the infant to the mature stage of EMNE development through developing their technological knowledge in order to realize FSA through internationalization. This study helps in contributing fresh reflections to the continuing debate concerning the causes of internationalization and global competitive development by EMNEs and the role of their FSAs in these processes.

This is one of the few studies which have demonstrated that some of the EMNEs do possess firms’ specific advantage which helps explain their innovative capabilities, competitive advantages and subsequent internationalization patterns.

The eclectic paradigm of Dunning (1980) (with its OLI and four motives for FDI framework) can be reconciled with the firm and country matrix of Rugman (1981). However, the fit is not perfect. The main reason for misalignment is that Dunning is focused upon outward FDI into host economies, whereas Rugman’s matrix is for firm‐level strategy covering MNE activity in both home and host countries

The purpose of this paper is to explain in detail the strategic asset‐seeking OFDIs of Chinese firms in Denmark through a theoretical lens that combines the updated OLI (Ownership, Location, Internalization) paradigm and the internalization theory. Meanwhile, the authors hope to unveil the unique characteristics of firm specific advantages (FSAs, including O and I advantages) and country specific advantages (CSAs, including L advantages).

The authors chose two case firms that just started investing and a third one that was in the process of preparing investment in Denmark. Primary data were collected by semi‐structured interviews in English at various locations in late 2009 and early 2010. The three Chinese firms in this study share a common primary objective in their strategic orientation of OFDIs. That is to seek strategic assets that are complementary and critical to augment their existing FSAs.

Rugman stated that strategic asset‐seeking OFDIs are supposed to have high levels of FSAs and CSAs. This study presents a more detailed analysis regarding the O, L and I advantages that Chinese investing firms in Denmark are perceived to possess. It was found that these Chinese investing firms had high levels of O_a and O_i but O_t was largely absent; furthermore, although L_r was obviously appreciated in Denmark, L_i presented a mixed picture. The paper also found that internalization advantages were only able to be realized when investing firms were good at utilizing networking and guanxi, which were largely derived from their prior O_i advantages.

Few have analyzed strategic asset‐seeking OFDIs made by emerging markets based on the FSA/CSA matrix that combines the OLI paradigm and the internalization theory. This study pursued this research endeavor by enriching a refined framework that connects the OLI paradigm, which recognizes multiple dimensions of O advantages and an institutional perspective, to the internalization theory, which converts O and I advantages into FSAs and associates L advantages with CSAs.

This article aims to investigate how country location, as a source of country‐specific advantage (CSA), and product innovation, as a source of firm‐specific advantage (FSA), influence the international expansion of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and their growth to become multinational enterprises (MNEs). It also aims to confirm internalization theory by testing the applicability of an extant concept, the FSA/CSA framework for the international expansion of SMEs. Developed and empirically validated largely in the context of the MNE, this paper seeks to show how the framework can be applied in the context of SMEs that develop into MNEs.

A qualitative approach is employed within a single industry setting using multiple cases. Propositions are formulated to explain the theorized relationships between innovation and the growth of SMEs in a sector which depends heavily on specific CSAs. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews and archival data, and are analyzed in data displays, tables and matrices.

The article finds that location of the industry cases as a source of CSAs, and product innovation as a source of FSAs, are highly relevant for growing New Zealand SMEs into MNEs. The study applies internalization theory to the growth strategies of SMEs.

This research combines extant theory and a specific context in order to analyze phenomena through a distinct conceptual lens. It confirms the CSA/FSA framework by applying it in a new empirical context. It can inform decision‐makers in growing SMEs on the strategic and international implications of firm and location advantages.

The purpose of this commentary is to outline an extension of the position of the focal article regarding importance of location‐based advantages, and to provide a critique related to conceptual development of country‐level supply chain capability (SCC).

The paper takes the form of a commentary and a critique of the country‐level SCC concept.

The author sees this study by Alam and Bagchi as a good starting point for research on the mechanisms of resource picking at national level to develop national‐level capabilities.

It will be interesting to see how capabilities at country level lead to emergence of unique, country‐specific advantages around specific industries or industry clusters.

The commentary emphasizes how climate change concerns and environmental proactivity are emerging as important drivers of location‐specific advantages related to local production and logistics environment. Furthermore, this commentary raises important questions regarding country‐level capability development.