The S-Shaped Internationalisation Pattern of UK Multinational Enterprises: An Empirical Investigation 2001–2022
Journal
The Academy of International Business (AIB) – AIB-UKI Chapter book series
ISSN
2662-1223
ISSN-Digital
2662-1231
ISBN
978-3-031-75636-8
Type
book section
Date Issued
2025-02-23
Author(s)
Editor(s)
J. Sadeghi Vahid
Sadraei, Razieh
Munjal, Surender
Khorana, Sangeeta
Abstract
The International Business literature has been flooded with “deglobalisation” claims. This literature has been inspired by work on overall economic and political developments and international strategies. However, there have not been many empirical analyses of the extent to which firms have increased or decreased their levels of internationalisation or globalisation over the past years. This chapter examines how the one hundred largest firms (by revenues) based in the United Kingdom (UK) have changed their average degree of internationalisation (as measured by their Foreign Sales as a percentage of Total Sales [FSTS]) and their orientation to the European region over 2001-2022. We present three major conclusions. First, we find an S-shaped pattern of internationalisation of the average UK top 100 firm over the past twenty years. The average FSTS generated by the top one hundred UK firms (1) went up from 42.1 per cent in 2001 to 66 per cent by 2012; (2) subsequently declined to 52.9 per cent until the year 2016; and (3) increased again to 64.6 per cent by the year 2022. Second, the average UK top 100 firm reduced its sales dependence on the European region after the year 2005, although Europe is still by far the most relevant region, generating on average about 57 per cent of the 100 largest UK firms’ foreign sales. Third, we demonstrate that both change trends have been driven by the largest UK firms. On average, the largest twenty UK firms (1) increased their dependence on foreign sales and (2) simultaneously decreased their reliance on European foreign markets at rates faster than other large UK firms.
Language
English
Keywords
Corporate Globalisation Deglobalisation MNE International Strategy United Kingdom
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
Navigating Disruptions and Transformations in International Business
Publisher
Springer Nature Switzerland
Start page
271
End page
286
Subject(s)
Contact Email Address
wei.lin@unisg.ch