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Internationalization of retail banks: A micro-level study of the multinationality-performance relationship

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Abstract

Abstract and Key Results

  • This study discusses the underlying reasons for the variant nature of the relationship between multinationality and firm performance in the context of service firms.

  • To date, this line of research has mostly used evidence from manufacturing firms, despite the ever-increasing contribution of service firms to national and global economies.

  • We conduct an exploratory study using case analyses of large European retail banks. We argue that the nature of the multinationality-performance relationship for services is moderated by industry characteristics, market-based factors and firm-specific factors.

  • We conclude that the shape of the curve depicting the multinationality-performance relationship of retail banks experiences substantial variations on a single case level.

  • Our exploratory study of retail banks shows that the multinationality-performance relationship varies significantly depending on banks’ strategic decisions regarding branch network configurations, product portfolios, branding strategies, organizational architecture (HQ-subsidiary relationship), and social networks. Any generalization of the relationship is difficult and prone to error.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Strategic Management Institute, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

    Markus Venzin

  2. Strategic Management Institute, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

    Vikas Kumar

  3. Strategy Department, Steinbeis-Hochschule Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Jens Kleine

Authors
  1. Markus Venzin
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  2. Vikas Kumar
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  3. Jens Kleine
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Venzin, M., Kumar, V. & Kleine, J. Internationalization of retail banks: A micro-level study of the multinationality-performance relationship. MANAGE. INT. REV. 48, 463–485 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-008-0027-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-008-0027-7

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