1. Theories of trade, investment and internationalisation
CHAPTER 2
Theories of trade, investment and internationalisation
JUSTIN GUARIGLIA/CORBIS

2. Learning objectives
LO 2.1 Understand why nations trade with each other—benefits of trade.
LO 2.2 Understand the theories explaining trade flows between nations.
LO 2.3 Understand the theories of internationalisation of the firm.
LO 2.4 Be familiar with the arguments of those who maintain that government can play a proactive role in promoting national competitive advantage in certain industries.
LO 2.5 Examine the reasons for rapid internationalisation/ born globals.
LO 2.6 Examine the important implications that international trade and internationalisation theory holds for business practice.

3. Introduction An overview of trade theory Free trade
Refers to a situation where a government does not attempt to influence through quotas or duties what its citizens can buy from another country or what they can produce and sell to another country.
The benefits of trade
The theories of Smith, Ricardo and Heckscher-Ohlin show why it is beneficial for a country to engage in international trade even for products it is able to produce for itself.
International trade allows a country to specialise in the manufacture and export of products that can be produced most efficiently in that country, and import products that can be produced more efficiently in other countries.
continued

4. Introduction The pattern of international trade
Some patterns of trade are fairly easy to explain—it is obvious why Saudi Arabia exports oil, Ghana exports cocoa and Brazil exports coffee.
However, why does Switzerland export chemicals, pharmaceuticals, watches and jewellery? Why does Japan export automobiles, consumer electronics and machine tools?
continued

5. Introduction Trade theory and government policy
Trade theories lack agreement in their recommendations for government policy.
Mercantilism makes a crude case for government involvement in promoting exports and limiting imports.
The theories of Smith, Ricardo, and Heckscher-Ohlin promote unrestricted free trade.
New trade theory and Porter’s theory of national competitive advantage justify limited and selective government intervention to support the development of certain export-oriented industries.

6. Mercantilism
Mercantilism asserted that it is in a country’s best interest to maintain a trade surplus, to export more than it imports.
Mercantilism advocated government intervention to achieve a surplus in the balance of trade.
It viewed trade as a zero-sum game, one in which a gain by one country results in a loss by another.
As an economic philosophy, mercantilism is problematic and not valid, yet many political views today have the goal of boosting exports while limiting imports by seeking only selective liberalisation of trade.

7. Absolute advantage
In 1776, Adam Smith attacked the mercantilist assumption that trade is a zero-sum game and argued that countries differ in their ability to produce goods efficiently.
A country has an absolute advantage in the production of a product when it is more efficient than any other country at producing it.
continued

8. Absolute advantage
Countries should specialise in the production of goods for which they have an absolute advantage and then trade these goods for the goods produced by other countries.
In Smith’s time, England had the world’s most efficient textile manufacturers, and France had the world’s most efficient wine industry. He argued that England should specialise in the production of textiles, while the French should specialise in the production of wine.

9. Comparative advantage
Ricardo’s theory
In 1817, David Ricardo took Adam Smith’s theory one step further by exploring what might happen when one country has an absolute advantage in the production of all goods.
It makes sense for a country to specialise in the production of those goods that it produces most efficiently and to buy the goods that it produces less efficiently from other countries, even if this means buying goods from other countries that it could produce more efficiently itself.
continued

10. Comparative advantage
Theory of comparative advantage
Figure 2.1 Theory of comparative advantage
continued

11. Comparative advantage
Comparative advantage and the gains from trade
Table 2.1 Comparative advantage and the gains from trade
continued

12. Comparative advantage
Qualifications and assumptions
The simple example of comparative advantage makes a number of assumptions:
Only two countries and two goods
Zero transportation costs
No differences in the price of resources in different countries
Resources are mobile between goods within countries
Constant returns to scale
Fixed stocks of resources
Trade has no effect on income distribution within a country.
continued

13. Comparative advantage
Extensions of the Ricardian model
Immobile resources
Resources do not always move freely from one economic activity to another.
Diminishing returns
Not all resources are the same quality.
Different goods use resources in different proportions.
Dynamic effects and economic growth
Trade might increase a country’s stock of resources.
Free trade might increase the efficiency of resource utilisation, and free up resources for other uses.
continued

14. Comparative advantage
The Samuelson critique
What happens when a rich country (Australia) enters into a free trade agreement with a poor country (China)?
The lower prices that Australian consumers pay for goods imported from China following the introduction of a free trade regime may not be enough to produce a net gain for the Australian economy if the dynamic effect of free trade is to lower real wage rates in Australia.
The ability to offshore services jobs that were traditionally not internationally mobile may have the effect of a mass inward migration into the United States, where wages would then fall.
continued

15. Comparative advantage
The Samuelson critique
Figure 2.3 The influence of free trade on the PPF
continued

16. Comparative Advantage
Evidence for the link between trade and growth
– Countries that adopt a more open stance towards international trade enjoy higher growth rates than those that close their economies to trade
Study of 100 countries from 1970 to 1990 by Sachs & Warner revealed that open economies were more likely to grow faster than those that don’t.
Study from 1950 to 1998 by Wacziarg & Welch revealed that countries that liberalised their trade regime had higher economic growth by 1.5%.
continued

17. Comparative advantage
Heckscher-Ohlin theory
Heckscher and Ohlin argued that comparative advantage arises from differences in national factor endowments.
The Heckscher-Ohlin theory predicts that countries will export goods that make intensive use of those factors that are locally abundant, while importing goods that make intensive use of factors that are locally scarce.
continued

18. Comparative advantage
The Leontief paradox
In 1953, using the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, Wassily Leontief postulated that since the US was relatively abundant in capital compared to other nations, the US would be an exporter of capital-intensive goods and an importer of labour-intensive goods.
However, he found that US exports were less capital-intensive than US imports.
Since this result was at variance with the predictions of the theory, it has become known as the Leontief paradox.

19. The product life-cycle theory
In the mid-1960s, Raymond Vernon proposed the product life-cycle theory which suggested that as products mature both the location of sales and the optimal production location will change, affecting the flow and direction of trade.
Early in the life cycle of a typical new product, while demand is starting to grow in the US, demand in other advanced countries is limited to high-income groups, and so it is not worthwhile for firms in those countries to start producing the new product; but it does necessitate some exports from the US to those countries.
continued

20. The product life-cycle theory
Over time, demand for the new product starts to grow in other advanced countries, making it worthwhile for foreign producers to begin producing it for their home markets.
US firms might also set up production facilities in those advanced countries where demand is growing, limiting the exports from the US.
As the market in the US and other advanced nations matures, the product becomes more standardised and price becomes the main competitive weapon.
continued

21. The product life-cycle theory
Producers based in advanced countries where labour costs are lower than the US might now be able to export to the US.
If cost pressures become intense, developing countries begin to acquire a production advantage over advanced countries.
The US switches from being an exporter of the product to an importer of the product as production becomes more concentrated in lower-cost foreign locations.
continued

22. The product life-cycle theory
Figure 2.4 The product life-cycle theory
continued

23. The product life-cycle theory
Evaluating the product life-cycle theory
While the product life-cycle theory accurately explains what has happened for products like photocopiers and a number of other high-technology products developed in the US in the 1960s and 1970s, the increasing globalisation and integration of the world economy has made this theory less valid in today’s world.
Think of where iPhones are developed, produced and traded to.

24. New trade theory
New trade theory suggests that because of economies of scale (unit cost reductions associated with a large scale of output) and increasing returns to specialisation, in some industries there are likely to be only a few profitable firms.
Firms with first-mover advantages (the economic and strategic advantages that accrue to early entrants into an industry) will develop economies of scale and create barriers to entry for other firms.
continued

25. New trade theory New trade theory:
Increases product variety and reduces costs.
Economies of scale, first-mover advantages and the pattern of trade.
The pattern of trade we observe in the world economy may be the result of:
first-mover advantages
economies of scale.
A nation may be able to specialise in producing a narrower range of products than it would in the absence of trade, yet by buying goods that it does not make from other countries, each nation can simultaneously increase the variety of goods available to its consumers and lower the costs of those goods.
AIRBUS S.A.S ©
continued

26. New trade theory Implications of new trade theory
A country may predominate in the export of a good simply because it was lucky enough to have one or more firms among the first to produce that good.
While this is at variance with the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, it does not contradict comparative advantage theory, and identifies a source of comparative advantage.
Governments should consider strategic trade policies that nurture and protect firms and industries where first-mover advantages and economies of scale are important.

27. National competitive advantage: Porter’s diamond
Porter’s 1990 study tried to explain why a nation achieves international success in a particular industry and identified four attributes that promote or impede the creation of competitive advantage.
continued

28. National competitive advantage: Porter’s diamond
Porter’s diamond of competitive advantage
Factor endowments
A nation's position in factors of production can lead to competitive advantage.
These factors can be either basic (natural resources, climate, location) or advanced (skilled labour, infrastructure, technological know-how).
Demand conditions
The nature of home demand for the industry’s product or service influences the development of capabilities.
Sophisticated and demanding customers pressure firms to be competitive.
Relating and supporting industries
The benefits of supplier industries and related industries that are internationally competitive can spillover and contribute to other industries.
Successful industries tend to be grouped in clusters in countries—having world-class manufacturers of semi-conductor processing equipment can lead to (and be a result of having) a competitive semi-conductor industry.
Firm strategy, structure and rivalry
Different nations are characterised by different management ideologies, which either help them or do not help them to build national competitive advantage.
There is a strong association between vigorous domestic rivalry and the creation and persistence of competitive advantage in an industry.
Figure 2.5 Determinants of national competitive advantage: Porter’s diamond
SOURCE: Reprinted by permission of the Harvard Business Review. ‘The competitive advantage of nations’ by Michael E. Porter, March–April 1990, p. 77. Copyright © 1990 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved.
continued

29. National competitive advantage: Porter’s diamond
Evaluating Porter’s theory
Government policy can affect demand through product standards, influence rivalry through regulation and antitrust laws, and impact the availability of highly educated workers and advanced transportation infrastructure.
The four attributes, government policy and chance work as a reinforcing system, complementing each other and in combination creating the conditions appropriate for competitive advantage.
Country Focus: The Rise of Finland’s Nokia
Summary
This feature is about the growth of the mobile telephone equipment industry, and more specifically, about the rise in competitiveness of Nokia, a Finnish mobile telephone company. The feature explains the reasons that Nokia was particularly well positioned to take advantage of the growth of the global mobile telephone industry.
Suggested Discussion Questions
1. Using the new trade theory and Porter’s theory of national competitive advantage, describe why Nokia emerged as a leading competitor in the global mobile telephone equipment industry.
2. Explain why the mobile telephone industry caught on in Finland and the other Scandinavian countries faster than the rest of the world.
3. Why didn’t the development of the mobile telephone equipment industry take place in Mexico or another Central or South American country rather than Finland, Sweden and the United States? Base your answer of the international trade theories described in this chapter.

30. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
What is foreign direct investment?
Foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs when a firm invests directly in new facilities to produce and/or market in a foreign country.
Once a firm undertakes FDI it becomes a multinational enterprise.
continued

31. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
Why foreign direct investment?
Firms could choose exporting or licensing.
Foreign direct investment can be expensive and risky.
Firms can seek new markets and resources.
Firms can improve efficiency by moving to countries that offer cost-related advantages, investment incentives or science and industrial parks.
Firms can seek ‘strategic assets’ by investing in local firms to gain access to distribution networks, gain local knowledge and other ownership advantages.
continued

32. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
FDI theories explain:
Why a firm will favour direct investment as a means of entering a foreign market when two other alternatives are possible (exporting and licensing).
Why firms in the same industry often undertake foreign direct investment at the same time.
Why certain locations are favoured over others as targets for foreign direct investment.
continued

33. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
Internalisation theory
Internalisation theory seeks to explain why firms often prefer foreign direct investment over licensing as a strategy for entering foreign markets.
When market imperfections are making transactions less efficient a company may undertake FDI.
Market imperfections include trade barriers and the protection of specialised knowledge.
continued

34. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
Internalisation theory
Limitations of exporting
The viability of an exporting strategy is often constrained by transportation costs and trade barriers.
When transportation costs are added to production costs, it becomes unprofitable to ship some products over a large distance.
Some foreign direct investment is undertaken as a response to actual or threatened trade barriers such as import tariffs or quotas.
continued

35. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
Internalisation theory
Limitations of licensing
Licensing gives away valuable technological know-how to a potential foreign competitor.
Licensing does not give a firm the tight control over manufacturing, marketing and strategy in a foreign country that may be required to maximise its profitability.
Capabilities are often not amenable to licensing.
continued

36. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
Advantages of foreign direct investment
FDI is an alternative way of entering into foreign markets when transportation costs or trade barriers make exporting unattractive.
A firm will favour FDI when it wishes to maintain control over technological know-how or over its operations and business strategy, or when its capabilities are simply not amenable to licensing, as may often be the case.
continued

37. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
The pattern of foreign direct investment
Firms in the same industry often undertake foreign direct investment at around the same time.
There is a clear tendency for firms to direct their investment activities towards certain locations.
Strategic behaviour
Oligopoly: an industry composed of a limited number of large firms.
Multipoint competition: when two or more enterprises encounter each other in different regional markets, national markets or industries.
continued

38. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world economy
The eclectic paradigm
The eclectic paradigm: John Dunning.
Dunning’s eclectic paradigm explains the rationale and direction of FDI:
ownership advantages
internalisation advantages
location-specific advantages.

39. The stage models of internationalisation: an incremental sequential approach
The Uppsala Models (U-Models)
Stage 1: No regular export activity.
Stage 2: Export via independent representatives (agents).
Stage 3: Establishment of an overseas sales subsidiary.
Stage 4: Overseas production/manufacturing units.
Psychic distance plays a role.
continued

40. Insert Figure 2.3 about here
The stage models of internationalisation: an incremental sequential approach
Johanson and Vahlne’s U-Model
Insert Figure 2.3 about here
Figure 2.6 The theoretical and operational level of the knowledge and foreign market commitment development U-Model
SOURCE: O. Andersen, ‘On the internationalization process of firms: a critical analysis’, Journal of International Business Studies, 24(2) (1993), pp. 209–31.
continued

41. The Innovation Models (I-Models)
The stage models of internationalisation: an incremental sequential approach
The Innovation Models (I-Models)
The body of research referred to as I-Models encompasses a number of studies.
Innovation-related models differ from the U-Models in that they view exporting as an innovation for the firm.
The internationalisation process is a series of innovations for the firm.
The focus of these models is primarily on the export development process of small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

42. International new ventures/born global firms
Various terms have been used to describe firms that internationalise rapidly:
‘Global start-ups’
‘International new ventures’
‘Born globals’

43. Focus on managerial implications
What is important?
Acceleration of internationalisation
The theory of FDI
Location
First-mover advantages
Policy

44. Summary of main themes
A number of theories were reviewed to explain why it is beneficial for a country to engage in international trade and has explained the pattern of international trade observed in the world economy.
In addition, we have discussed some of the theories of why firms undertake FDI as well as the recent theoretical developments in explaining the internationalisation process of small- to medium-sized enterprises and the emerging trend towards rapid internationalisation by firms.