The Internationalization of Multinational Companies : An intra-sector comparison among firms from developing and developed countries

The recent emergence of Multinational Companies (MNCs) from developing countries as players of major role inside their industry has led the academic agenda to dedicate a lot of efforts on better understand the internationalization particularities of companies from this kind. This research aims on contributing to the already existent theoretical bodywork by highlighting the differences between firms from developed and developing countries by performing a cross-country comparison between two firms from the same industry: a Brazilian company, which will be called Beta due to confidentiality issues, and a Swedish company, which will be named Alpha. Although being joint-managed by Swedish and Swiss assets, this study focus on the Swedish part of the society, which is constituted by the firm which will be named Gamma. Both companies operate on the electric motors, power and automation technologies segment. The theoretical framework used was built under traditional International Business theories, such as the Nordic Research School in International Business and the Eclectic Paradigm. The method used constituted in a multiple case-study and data were collected from companies’ reports as well as other publications, and primary data were collected by applying a questionnaire with both firms. Results highlight how the self-experience was more important for Beta while partnerships affected more the case of Alpha. Different ownership advantages structures held each firm point out that the developed country MNC enjoys greater brand equity, making the developing country firm to provide adapted solutions to its customers in order to compete in the market. The orientation on seeking for localization advantages can be described as an extent as their capacities developed in the home market, and the drivers for producing abroad are similar among the firms