INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION THROUGH START-UP OR ACQUISITION - A LEARNING PERSPECTIVE

This study brings a fresh approach-a learning perspective-to the liter ature examining whether firms expand internationally through start-ups or acquisitions. Hypotheses concern how this strategic choice is infl uenced by a firm's multinational diversity and product diversity. The results show that multinational diversity leads to foreign start-ups r ather than acquisitions. Produce diversity has a curvilinear effect on the tendency to use start-ups. The curvilinear effect becomes weaker at higher levels of multinational diversity.