Online marketplaces such as Amazon.com represent a new channel through which multinational enterprises (MNEs) can sell their products in foreign markets, either as third-party sellers or as suppliers to the platform owner. An MNE can have better control of the marketing mix when selling directly on Amazon.com as a third-party seller, but this task entails two challenges. First is the liability of foreignness, and second is the disadvantage of competing with other products that are directly sold by the platform owner. The platform owner sets the rules of the platform and has data and algorithmic advantages, putting competitive pressure on MNEs with tighter control. Data obtained from Amazon are analyzed and reveal that maintaining control as a third-party seller predicts lower sales than being a supplier to the platform owner. However, the penalty associated with retaining control is smaller for MNEs with more host-country experience and country-of-origin advantage. These findings provide new insights into how MNEs leverage platforms such as Amazon.com to expand their global reach.

Amazon.com 等在线市场代表了跨国企业 (MNE) 可以作为第三方卖家或平台所有者的供应商在国外市场销售其产品的新渠道。当跨国企业作为第三方卖家直接在亚马逊网站上销售时，可以更好地控制营销组合，但这项任务面临两个挑战。首先是国外的责任，其次是与平台所有者直接销售的其他产品竞争的劣势。平台所有者制定平台规则，拥有数据和算法优势，给跨国企业带来更严格的竞争压力。对从亚马逊获得的数据进行分析后发现，作为第三方卖家保持控制权预计销售额将低于作为平台所有者的供应商。然而，对于拥有更多东道国经验和原籍国优势的跨国企业来说，保留控制权带来的惩罚较小。这些发现为跨国企业如何利用亚马逊等平台扩大其全球影响力提供了新的见解。