Moderating roles of spatial and temporal internationalization on the product diversification–performance relationship of emerging market multinational enterprises

This study aims to extend knowledge of the product diversification–performance relationship by examining the moderating roles of spatial and temporal internationalization of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs). Following organizational learning theory, we add an exploration mechanism to explain the distinct moderating roles of spatial and temporal dimensions of EMNEs’ internationalization. We draw upon panel data on 622 Chinese listed companies (2758 observations from 2014 to 2018) to assess the research hypotheses. We find that spatial and temporal internationalization have totally opposite moderating effects on the diversification–performance relationship. Increased EMNE spatial internationalization weakens the positive effect of related diversification while strengthening the negative effect of unrelated diversification. However, the positive role of related diversification in performance is strengthened when EMNE temporal internationalization increases.