In this paper, we draw on the notions of breadth and depth of internationalization speed in an attempt to examine the performance implications for multinational enterprises (MNEs) that rapidly and concurrently internationalize in new and existing foreign markets. Specifically, we examine the organizational paradox which suggests that firms which grow internationally by concurrently expanding rapidly in both new foreign markets (breadth) and in foreign markets they currently operate (depth), are better off than firms which do not adopt such an approach. Since past research has not examined the interaction between the breadth and depth of MNE internationalization speed on firm performance, we contribute to the temporal dimension of the internationalization process by developing a novel, yet paradoxical approach. Our analysis is based on a longitudinal sample of the world’s largest retail MNEs covering the period 2003–2012, which includes the 2008 financial crisis that had a significant effect on the global economy. We find that concurrent internationalization speed positively relates to firm performance during periods of stability. Further, we draw from the upper-echelons theory and find that the aforementioned relationship can be strengthened by the level of CEO international experience and CEO education.

在本文中，我们借鉴了国际化速度的广度和深度的概念，试图研究对在新的和现有的外国市场同时快速国际化的跨国企业 (MNE) 的绩效影响。具体而言，我们研究了组织悖论，该悖论表明通过同时在新的外国市场（广度）和他们目前经营的外国市场（深度）中快速扩张来实现国际增长的公司比不采用这种方法的公司更好。由于过去的研究没有考察跨国企业国际化速度的广度和深度之间的相互作用对公司绩效的影响，我们通过开发一种新颖但自相矛盾的方法对国际化过程的时间维度做出了贡献。我们的分析基于 2003 年至 2012 年期间全球最大零售跨国公司的纵向样本，其中包括对全球经济产生重大影响的 2008 年金融危机。我们发现，在稳定时期，并发国际化速度与公司绩效呈正相关。此外，我们借鉴高层理论，发现上述关系可以通过 CEO 国际经验和 CEO 教育水平得到加强。