Multinational Enterprises Are Regional, Not Global

Abstract

A paradox of international business is that the multinational enterprises (MNEs) – which are the agents of international business – largely operate within their home‐base markets in each part of the “triad” of North America, the E.U. and Japan. Here, empirical evidence is presented across the 500 largest MNEs. It shows that even the 20 most “international” MNEs (those with the highest ratio of foreign‐to‐total sales) are mainly home‐triad based in their activities. We conclude that the strategic management of MNEs needs to be regionally focused, not global.

Citation

Rugman, A.M. and Brain, C. (2003), "Multinational Enterprises Are Regional, Not Global", Multinational Business Review, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/1525383X200300001