EMERGING MARKET INTERNATIONALIZATION: AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN FIRMS

Th is exploratory study investigates the industry and geographical patterns, as well as the motives of Central and Eastern European (CEE) firm international expansions. Data on 1441 international M As in the period of 2000-2014 was collected from the Th ompson ONE Banker database. Th e findings suggest that (1) while the manufacturing sector’s share of CEE firm international expansions is declining, the service sector’s share (led by capital investment groups and banks) is increasing; (2) the top target region for CEE firm internationalization is Central and Eastern Europe, followed by Western and Southern Europe; and (3) beyond market seeking as the top internationalization motive, CEE firms pursue international expansion for global-value-consolidation seeking and knowledge seeking, rather than resource seeking or efficiency seeking. Th e findings provide support for the importance of geographical proximity suggested by Uppsala model in the context of CEE firms’ internationalization. On the other hand, the findings suggest that developed and developing economies firms exhibit different internationalization motivations.