Internationalization and its possible impact on subjective and objective performance: Evidence from Brazilian TNCs

Brazilian transnational corporations (TNCs) have increased foreign direct investment nearly every year since 2001. This paper assesses Brazilian TNCs’ transnationality index and the relationship with both objective and subjective foreign performance. An empirical study was conducted of 41 Brazilian TNCs’ international activities in 2008 and 2009. The results demonstrate that an increase in the degree of internationalization is associated with better foreign performance. This relationship is stronger for the objective performance dimension than the subjective dimension. Furthermore, UNCTAD’s transnationality index is more reliable in this context than an alternative construct that includes other internationalization measures.