Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1015384 European Management Journal 2006 11 Pages PDF
Abstract

This paper analyzes the regional characteristics and strategies of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the world cosmetics and toiletries industry, based on the new work by Rugman on regional strategy. We test the proposition that MNEs may asymmetrically develop their upstream and downstream firm specific advantages (FSAs). We find that the downstream activities of the MNEs in cosmetics are home region based but that upstream activities are more so. Further, the asymmetry of FSAs in the world cosmetics industry is mainly due to the atypical Asian entry strategies of North American and West European cosmetics MNEs. Two case studies confirm how variations in FSAs can affect regional strategy.

Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Business, Management and Accounting Business and International Management
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