Does it pay to be active on many foreign markets? Profitability in German multi-market exporters and importers from manufacturing industries

This paper provides the first empirical evidence on the link between the number of foreign markets (where a market is defined as the combination of one traded good and one country traded with) a firm is active on and its profitability. We find that in German manufacturing industries the profitability of a firm is neither positively nor negatively related to the number of foreign markets. The extra costs associated with being active on more foreign markets tend to be balanced by the extra benefits. Therefore, we have evidence that it does not pay to be active on many foreign markets.