Despite the great deal of previous research into international diversification, we know little about the impact of international diversification on firms’ credit scores. Drawing upon the resource-based view and transaction cost economics, we examine the relationship between international diversification and credit scores by using a large sample of 6,557 UK firms between 2016 and 2017. We find an inverted U-shaped relationship between international diversification and firms’ credit scores, indicating that the effect of international diversification on credit scores is initially positive but becomes negative with over-diversification. In addition, we find that R&D intensity positively moderates the relationship between international diversification and credit score, implying that the credit scores of highly diversified firms improve as they increase their investment in R&D. Further analysis suggests that a firm’s credit score becomes less dependent on international diversification for large firms, firms in concentrated industries, firms in the manufacturing sector, and firms distant from key metropolitan areas, such as London.

尽管之前对国际多元化进行了大量研究，但我们对国际多元化对公司信用评分的影响知之甚少。借鉴资源基础观点和交易成本经济学，我们通过使用 2016 年至 2017 年间 6,557 家英国公司的大样本来检验国际多元化与信用评分之间的关​​系。我们发现国际多元化与公司信用评分之间存在倒 U 形关系。信用评分，表明国际多元化对信用评分的影响最初是积极的，但随着过度多样化而变得消极。此外，我们发现研发强度正向调节国际多元化与信用评分之间的关​​系，这意味着高度多元化公司的信用评分会随着他们对研发投资的增加而提高。进一步的分析表明，对于大型企业、集中行业的企业、制造业的企业以及远离伦敦等主要大都市地区的企业，公司的信用评分对国际多元化的依赖程度降低。