Purpose: This paper aims, by a direct comparison, to address the differences and similarities of the internationalization processes of multinational companies both from developed and emerging countries.

Design/methodology/approach: This study employed qualitative approach, using an integrated model of internationalization process. Multiple case studies, with two companies with significant involvement in foreign markets and originating in countries with different levels of development, were carried out.

Findings: The results reveal that the case companies show some differences with regards to their use of ownership advantages to facilitate their internationalization. On the other hand, learning and experience of internationalization, coupled with the use of networks, have been factors that have influenced the pace and the pattern of the case companies' internationalization. An integrated model, which includes variables related to networks and learning/experience, may contribute to the understanding of the case of multinational companies from emerging economies.

Originality/value: Although the research field of emerging multinationals has been growing lately, very few attempts have been made in the sense of directly comparing the internationalization process of firms from both developed and emerging countries. The authors proposed an integrated analytical model that draws on insights from the eclectic paradigm and the Uppsala internationalization model. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.