A pipe dream come true: the international expansion of the Hume Pipe Company in the 1920s

Abstract

This article analyses the motivations behind the international expansion of the Hume Pipe Company in the 1920s. As one of a limited number of Australian manufacturers engaged in foreign direct investment prior to World War II, Humes provides an interesting insight into the characteristics of early Australian multinational enterprises. Using Dunning's eclectic paradigm, the article finds that Humes held a number of competitive advantages that made international expansion possible, but it was not until the firm had recognised the advantages of internalising its operations, and had acquired sufficient resources to enable it to do so, that FDI was utilised.