Internationalization process of a developing country multinational: the outward foreign direct investment decisions in Bimbo Group

Abstract

There is a lack of extended knowledge on internationalizationtheories applied to developing countries firms (DCF) within the internationalbusiness field. This paper explains the drivers of the internationalinvestment behavior of world leader baking company Bimbo and therelevance that the main internationalization theories have in the foreigndirect investment (FDI) decisions. Ownership, Locational and Internalization(OLI) advantages, as well as the Uppsala model, will be explainedand compared to the Bimbo’s internationalization path. Furthermore,Bimbo’s international operations are summarized and presentedchronologically. Finally, a comparison between the above mentionedtheories and the company’s behavior is provided, and the conclusion thatDunning’s (2000) eclectic paradigm explains the firm’s internationalizationis suggested.