International diversification and firm performance: the contingent influence of product diversification

Abstract

Despite decades of research, the relationship between international diversification (ID) and performance (P) represents a quandary in the field of International Business.. Though, there seems to be some consensus among scholars on the non-linear nature of the relationship; researchers in the field continue to urge further work in the field for a more nuanced approach to study this relationship. This paper takes a step forward to address that call by arguing that the underlying relationship between ID and P is contingent upon product diversification (PD) of the firm. In particular, we hypothesize and provide evidence that the ID and P relationship is positively moderated by PD when the firm has both high levels of both ID and PD or low levels of both ID and PD.