Arbix, Glauco Antonio Truzzi2025-01-232013https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14135/1638After economic liberalization, Brazilian companies from several sectors initiated or expanded their internationalization processes. This trend became more pronounced after 2004, when Brazilian outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) grew with an unprecedented magnitude. The recent international expansion, however, differs from past experiences not only in the volume of investments, but also regarding their destiny and quality, covering an increasing number of countries and sectors. This dissertation includes a detailed characterization of the internationalization process of 148 Brazilian transnational companies (TNCs) during the last two decades, with particular reference to their sectoral composition and the geographical location of their OFDI projects. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, this research reaches conclusions that deconstruct the recurring ideas in the academic literature that the internationalization of Brazilian companies would be restricted to commodities intensive sectors or concentrated in Latin America. By revealing the correlations between different sectors of economic activity and their international insertion strategies, we demonstrate that companies from technology-intensive sectors seek internationalization primarily in the largest and most dynamic markets of the world, as a way to strengthen ties with customers and gain access to new knowledge and technologies. Additionally, this dissertation seeks to overcome the limitations of the international business perspective, prevalent in the academic literature on the topic, by investigating the external determinants of the recent intensification of Brazilian OFDI through a transdisciplinary approach. In so doing, this research historically contextualizes the internationalization of Brazilian TNCs from the 70s to the present, analyzing in detail the impacts of the changing geography of international production, the diffusion of new technologies and macroeconomic and political factors on the Brazilian OFDI. This change of perspective allows a better understanding of the characteristics of the recent internationalization of Brazilian companies and also illuminates conclusions that lead to new implications for the formulation of industrial policiesDocumento textualporAcesso abertoInvestimento externo diretoInvestimento brasileiro diretoEmpresas transnacionaisPolítica industrialDesenvolvimento socioeconômicoDissertação