| This dissertation investigates a fundamental, yet unanswered, question of how firm resources impact multinationality. “Multinationality” refers to the extent to which firms conduct business activities beyond national borders. The research question is answered by two empirical studies. One empirical study examines large firms using secondary data from a dynamic perspective. The second empirical study examines small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using survey data from a static perspective. The two empirical investigations employ samples of firms in the United States. Shedding light on the antecedents of multinationality, this dissertation moves beyond conventional views that focus on the consequences of multinational expansion.; Conceptual models are built upon the resource-based perspective. Based on international business, strategic management, and entrepreneurship literature, different sets of resource determinants critical to international operations by large firms and SMEs are identified respectively. Results from both empirical investigations lend support to theoretical conjectures. Specifically, the first empirical study found that specific resources (some of them carry lagged effects) significantly influence growth in multinationality of large firms. The second empirical study demonstrates the usefulness of firm resources in supporting the international presence of SMEs. The central contributions of this dissertation are: first, it introduces the resource-based antecedents to the literature on multinationality; second, it confirms the value of those antecedents in understanding the phenomenon of multinational expansion; third, it integrates literature on international business, strategic management, and entrepreneurship; and fourth, it demonstrates the generalizability of the resource-based perspective in the domain of multinationality. |
