Does internationalization pay off?: a study of the perceived benefits and financial performance of the international operations of Brazilian companies

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the financial performance of a company's international operations and the degree of its internationalization in a sample of 73 Brazilian companies. On one hand, the results revealed that companies with a higher performance of their international operations in relation to their domestic operations are less internationalized in revenues, assets, employees, geographic dispersion of markets and value chain activities than their more internationalized counterparts. On the other hand, the analyses showed that more internationalized companies have a greater perception of experiencing the following internationalization benefits: "ability to respond quickly and appropriately to international customers," "strengthening of the competitive position," "geographic diversification and less dependence on the domestic market," "effect of demonstration in the country of origin," and "greater stability in the financial and economic results".