We develop a model in which multinational investors decide about the modes of organization, the locations of production, and the markets to be served. Foreign investments are driven by market-seeking and cost-reducing motives. We further assume that investors face costs of control that vary...

This paper provides a theoretical formalisation of the joint-venture contract, as an alternative to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), within a Dissipation of Intangible Assets framework. In a two-period, two-country equilibrium model, we discuss how the threat of knowledge spillover shapes the...

The paper stresses how Italian and Chinese SMEs internationalize according to different approaches. Indeed, in the former case firms may move abroad because they follow the so-called lead firms, that act as a meta-national body, whereas in the latter case SMEs are committed to exports and/or...