Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

3-2022

Abstract

The growing platform economy has revived the debate on the applicability of internalization theory in contemporary contexts. In moving this debate forward, we draw on insights from hybrids research and property rights theory to complement the internalization school. Our core contribution lies in a reconceptualization of platforms as a hybrid organizational form enabling the exchange of property rights between platform owners and complementors. Using social platforms as an example, we propose that improvement in a host country's intellectual property protection will increase the multinational platform's (MNP) level of internalization, and that the platform firm's governance capabilities may weaken the effect of institutions on its operation mode. Our theoretical analysis yields new insights beyond the received view of internationalization that builds on the assumption of internalized proprietary resources. We conclude that internalization theory, as an overarching paradigm in IB, remains adaptable to new organizational forms in the digital economy.

Keywords

internalization theory, property rights, platforms, user-generated content, intellectual property, digital

Discipline

International Business | Strategic Management Policy

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Journal of International Business Studies

Volume

53

Issue

8

First Page

1805

Last Page

1816

ISSN

0047-2506

Identifier

10.1057/s41267-022-00506-w

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-022-00506-w

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