Abstract
Semi-globalization emphasizes the importance of geographic regions and region-bound, firm-specific advantages in multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) internationalization process. It suggests that a MNE’s prior internationalization in a region influences its propensity to internationalize into other countries within the region. Yet, little work has explored whether this relationship might be contingent upon different components of internationalization. In this paper, we develop and test hypotheses about the moderating effects of an MNE’s internationalization patterns on semiglobalization. We develop hypotheses about MNEs’ general international experience, firm specific intangible assets, institutional diversity, cultural diversity and international asset dispersion, as moderators. The results validate the contingent effects on semiglobalization, showing that both general international experience and international geographic scope play an important role in semiglobalization. These results present a new perspective to understand how MNEs’ characteristics explain semiglobalization.