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Firm-specific, national and regional competitive advantages: The case of emerging market MNEs—Thailand

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Abstract

Increasing levels of regional economic integration have created a new source of international competitiveness for MNEs from an emerging economy, Thailand, in the context of ASEAN economic integration. Building on the theoretical framework of firm-specific advantages (FSAs) and country-specific advantages (CSAs) grounded in internalization theory, we introduce region-specific advantages (RSAs) and advance a novel regional dual-double-diamond model to analyse regional competitiveness. Using both primary and secondary data we find that most Thai firms derive their international competitiveness from CSAs rather than FSAs, and will benefit from ASEAN RSAs. Our study significantly advances the literature on international competitiveness of emerging-economy MNEs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Business and Strategy, Henley Business School, University of Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, RG9 3AU, England, UK

    Elena Beleska-Spasova

  2. Faculty of Management Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand

    Sirinuch Loykulnanta

  3. Henley Business School, International Business and Strategy, University of Reading, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, RG6 6AH, England, UK

    Quyen T. K. Nguyen

Authors
  1. Elena Beleska-Spasova
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  2. Sirinuch Loykulnanta
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  3. Quyen T. K. Nguyen
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Correspondence to Elena Beleska-Spasova.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables A1, A2.

Table A1 IPS statistical tables
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Table A2 Questionnaire survey instrument
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Beleska-Spasova, E., Loykulnanta, S. & Nguyen, Q.T.K. Firm-specific, national and regional competitive advantages: The case of emerging market MNEs—Thailand. Asian Bus Manage 15, 264–291 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-016-0009-8

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