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Recent empirical work suggests that the business operations of multinational companies are rather regional than global. The authors analyze the performance impact of intra-regional (as opposed to inter-regional) expansion among companies from six West European countries. Using multilevel modeling, the authors find that an increase in a firm’s degree of regionalization leads to superior performance. The results reveal that an inter-regional strategy does not seem to be a profitable expansion option. Moreover, while examining the moderating impact of firms’ FSAs on the link between intra-regional expansion and performance, the empirical findings suggest that marketing-related FSAs tend to be more regional-bound in nature and support the positive performance effect of intra-regional expansion

International audienceThis research investigates the internationalization process of multinational corporations. The authors identify international epochs that profoundly characterize the internationalization process of companies and explain their emergence. Based on a longitudinal case study of the German company Hoechst and its merger with the French company Rhône-Poulenc to Aventis, the empirical analysis reveals that international epochs are initiated by significant changes in the power structure of the corporation, such as the appointment of a new CEO or a corporate merger

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