Chinese multinationals’ fast internationalization: Financial performance advantage in one region, disadvantage in another

Our study reveals the financial performance implications of the speed at which Chinese multinational enterprises (CMNEs) expand into intra-regional versus inter-regional host countries. In doing so, we propose a framework that integrates internationalization speed and home regionalization literatures. Using data from 767 publicly listed CMNEs from the years 2002 to 2014, we discover that the faster the intra-regional internationalization, the better the firm’s financial performance, whereas faster inter-regional internationalization demonstrates a poorer financial performance. We also find that fast-mover CMNEs’ technological and marketing resources are valuable in intra-regional host countries, but vulnerable in inter-regional host countries. We discuss the implications of these findings for studies of the Uppsala internationalization process model and regional MNEs.