Expansion Strategies of U.S. Multinational Firms

摘要

In this paper we revisit the question of why multinationals go abroad. To date, most research has focused on two answers: to gain access to host-country markets, or to exploit international factor-cost differences. Most empirical research has concluded that market-seeking FDI matters more than FDI motivated by wage differentials. In contrast, we will document multinational expansion strategies that have received little attention in the literature. We then analyze how host-country policies and market conditions shape these various strategies. Finally, we examine whether existing theories of multinationals help explain the patterns we uncover.