The aim of this paper is to examine the importance of company size on the development of competencies. The central assumption is that small Brazilian multinationals need to develop more organizational competencies relative to large multinationals. The data result from a survey that obtained responses from 92 Brazilian companies (48 large multinationals and 44 small multinationals). Statistical techniques of factor analysis and generalized linear modeling were used to check the influence of the size of the multinational on the development of competencies. The result shows that small Brazilian multinationals develop more competencies abroad than large companies. Therefore, at least for Brazilian multinationals, as representatives of companies from emerging countries, size is a central aspect to explain the strategies for developing competencies abroad.
Brazilian multinationals; small business; organizational competencies; internationalization; organizational strategy
