Understanding the Realities of Contemporary Internationalization of the MNE

While the idea of regio-centric firm behavior had been expounded as early as 1969 (see Perlmutter & Heenan, 1974), research in international strategy and marketing since has mainly gone from a multidomestic focus to a global focus. Reality seems to indicate that more and more multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been implementing regional strategies as opposed to either global or multi-domestic ones. Debate has been active over the last two decades on the reality of globalization and regionalization. This chapter reviews the debate, distills major themes, and offers a structured understanding of the phenonemenon of regionalization vs. globalization as seen in contemporary internationalization.