International Strategies of Service MNCs in the Asia-Pacific Region

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in services has been growing rapidly in the developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region. In this study we explore the level and distribution of service FDI in the Asia-Pacific region by examining both country-level aggregate data and firm-level data. Using data in 180 large multinational corporations in 10 service industries over the 1980-1986 period, we construct a logistic regression model to examine the effects of client-following strategy, cultural difference, oligopolistic reaction, firm size, and international experience on the international expansion strategies of service MNCs in the region. Differences in the international strategies are analyzed and policy implications are discussed