Client profitability of diffusion segments across countries for multi-generational innovations: The influence of firm, market, and cross-national differences

There is scant research on the important managerial question of how to maximize returns on investments in either international business or international marketing literature. We propose and test a conceptual framework using data from a large technology manufacturer-service provider. Despite early adoption by innovators and early adopters, the early majority segment is most profitable. However, the late majority segment and the early adopters segment are the next most profitable in the developed and emerging countries, respectively. We propose a decision support framework incorporating cross-national distances on single-generation and multigeneration profitability for MNEs offering multi-generational products in multinational markets to be more profitable.