Multinational Enterprises from Small Economies: The Internationalization Pattern of Large Companies from Denmark, Finland and Norway

Analyzing the internationalization of large companies from small countries requires understanding the process of internationalization by examining push-pull forces associated with the interface between micro and macro level factors. We examine the growth and international expansion of the ten largest companies in Denmark, Finland, and Norway over the period 1990 to 1999. Most companies in the sample became more international during the last decade across basically all the investigated dimensions of internationalization. This was particularly accentuated in the case of Norwegian firms, possibly due to their lower degree of internationalization at the beginning of the period. The study also shows that companies increasingly internationalized even such strategic activities as research and development activities, and headquarters functions.