Bounded-born globals: Rethinking internationalization in the platform economy

This paper develops a process-based explanation of how platform-based multinational companies (PMNCs) expand internationally. Drawing on a longitudinal case study of Netflix, we identify a two-stage sequencing pattern: an initial phase of rapid geographic rollout enabled by digital scalability, followed by a slower and more uneven process of market penetration shaped by institutional frictions, localized user preferences, and the boundedness of network effects. To conceptualize this dynamic, we propose the Network-Bounded Sequencing Model, which shows that PMNCs do not sequence their international growth based on traditional criteria such as geographic proximity, psychic distance, or entry-mode risk. Instead, their expansion is driven by platform-specific logics that combine global scalability with local constraints. We further introduce the concept of the Bounded-Born Global firm—digital platforms that attain rapid global availability but face delayed and selective engagement due to the need for both local adaptation and infrastructure. This framework diverges from the gradualist learning logic of the Uppsala model and the rapid, uniform expansion assumed in Born Global theories, offering a more accurate account of how platform firms internationalize in digitally mediated but institutionally complex environments.