The internationalization-performance relationship at Swiss firms: A test of the S-shape and extreme degrees of internationalization

- Researchers have recently suggested that on average the relationship between internationalization and performance will be S-shaped. In this study, we test this pattern investigating 87 Swiss multinational companies in manufacturing industries over an 8-year period (1998-2005; n = 696).
- Large Swiss companies cover the full range of internationalization, with many measuring over 90 percent foreign sales-to-total sales. This allows for a unique test of performance levels at very high degrees of internationalization.