In this article, a conceptual model is developed that places internationalization
and key process dimensions into a longitudinal strategy context. The model
follows the internationalization literature with its emphasis on internal
organizational processes (such as learning and network development) that drive
foreign market expansion, but are also outcomes of it. These internal processes
(which feed into the so-called strategic foundation) are linked to the company's
strategy mechanisms, thus tying internationalization and strategic management
into an interrelated cycle. Networks are analyzed as a subset of the conceptual
model, illustrating many of the challenges of taking a strategic approach to
internationalization. Although the paper is exploratory in nature, managerial
implications of the model in terms of effective servicing of foreign markets are
discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AxinnC.N. “Export Performance:
Do Managerial Perceptions Make a Difference?”
International Marketing Review5, no. 2 (1988):
61–71.
2.
BenitoG.R.G., and WelchL.S. “Foreign Market
Servicing: Beyond Choice of Entry Mode.” Journal of
International Marketing2, no. 2 (1994):
7–27.
3.
BilkeyW.J., and TesarG. “The Export Behavior of
Smaller-sized Wisconsin Firms.” Journal of
International Business Studies8, no. 1 (1977):
93–98.
4.
BjörkmanI., and KockS. “Social Relationships
and Business Networks: The Case of Western Companies in
China.” International Business Review4, no. 4 (1995):
519–35.
5.
BlankenburgD., and JohansonJ. “Managing Network
Connections in International Business.” Scandinavian
International Business Review1, no. 1 (1992):
5–19.
6.
BowmanC., and AschD.Strategic Management.London:
Macmillan,
1987.
7.
BuckleyP.J., and GhauriP.The Internationalization of the Firm: A Reader.London: Academic
Press, 1993.
8.
CavusgilS.T. “On the
Internationalization Process of Firms.” European
Research8 (November 1980):
273–81.
9.
ChangT.-L., and GrubP.D. “Competitive
Strategies of Taiwanese PC Firms in the Internationalization
Process.” Journal of Global Marketing6, no. 3 (1992):
5–27.
10.
CullenJ. “Case Study:
International Collaboration.” Les Nouvelles21, no. 3 (1986):
117–21.
11.
DowlingP.J.SchulerR.S., and WelchD.E.International Dimensions of Human Resource Management.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Publishing, 1994.
12.
DyerL. “Bringing Human
Resources into the Strategy Formulation Process.” In
Perspectives on Personnel/Human Resource Management, edited
by HenemanH.G. and SchwabD.P. 3d. ed. Homewood,
IL: Irwin,
1986.
13.
ErramilliM.K. “Entry Mode Choice in
Service Industries.” International Marketing
Review7, no. 5 (1990):
50–62.
14.
FordD., ed. Understanding Business
Markets: Interaction, Relationships and Networks.London: Academic
Press, 1990.
GodfreyP.C., and HillC.W.L. “The Problem of
Unobservables in Strategic Management Research.”
Strategic Management Journal16, no. 7 (1995):
519–33.
17.
HakanssonH., ed. International Marketing
and Purchasing of Industrial Goods.Chichester:
Wiley, 1982.
18.
HamelG., and PrahaladC.K. “Strategic
Intent.” Harvard Business Review67, no. 3 (1989):
63–76.
19.
HamelG., and PrahaladC.K. “Strategy as Stretch
and Leverage.” Harvard Business Review71, no. 2 (1993):
75–84.
20.
HillR. “Buyer and Seller
Beware.” International Management37, no. 7 (1982):
22–23.
21.
HollandC., and LockettG. “Forms of Association in
Business Markets: The Impact of Inter-organizational Information
Systems.” In Advances in International
Marketing5, edited by CavusgilS.T. and SharmaD.D.,
125–43. Greenwich,
Conn: JAI Press,
1993.
22.
JanssonH. “Marketing to Projects
in South-East Asia - A Network.” Working Paper 3, Centre for
International Business Studies, Uppsala, Sweden,
1985.
23.
JohansonJ., and VahlneJ.-E. “The
Internationalization Process of the Firm: a Model of Knowledge Development
and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments.” Journal
of International Business Studies8, no. 1 (1977):
23–32.
24.
KinchN. “Entering a Tightly
Structured Network—Strategic Visions or Network Realities.”
In Managing Networks in International Business, edited by
ForsgrenM. and JohansonJ., 194–214.
Philadelphia: Gordon and
Breach, 1992.
25.
KrishnanP. “Amcor in Europe and
North America.” Unpublished MBA project report,
Monash University,
Melbourne,
1993.
26.
LuostarinenR., and WelchL.S.International Business Operations.Helsinki: Kyriiri
Oy1990.
27.
MacdonaldS. “Information Networks
and the Exchange of Information”. In The Economics
of Information Networks, edited by
AntonelliC., 51–69.
Amsterdam:
Elsevier,
1992.
28.
MacharzinaK., and EngelhardJ. “Paradigm Shift in
International Business Research.” Management
International Review31 (special issue 1991):
23–43.
29.
MarschanR.WelchD., and WelchL. “Control in
Less-Hierarchical Multinationals: The Role of Personal Networks and Informal
Communication.” International Business
Review5, no. 2 (091993): 137–50.
30.
MelinL. “Internationalization as
a Strategy Process.” Strategic Management
Journal13, (1992):
99–118.
31.
MintzbergH. “The Fall and Rise of
Strategic Planning.” Harvard Business
Review72, no. 1 (1994):
107–04.
32.
MintzbergH., and WatersJ.A. “Of Strategies,
Deliberate and Emergent.” Strategic Management
Journal6, no. 3 (1985):
257–72.
33.
NonakaI.ByosiereP.BoruckiC.C., and KonnoN. “Organizational
Knowledge Creation Theory: A First Comprehensive Test.”
International Business Review3, no. 4 (1994):
337–51.
34.
NordstromK.The Internationalization Process of the Firm: Searching for New Patterns
and Explanations.Stockholm: The Stockholm School
of Economics, 1991.
35.
QuinnJ.B. “Strategic Change:
‘Logical Incrementalism’.” In The Strategy
Process, edited by QuinnJ.B., MintzbergH., and JamesR.M.,
94–104. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall,
1988.
36.
SengeP.M.The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization.New York:
Doubleday,
1991.
37.
StarbuckW.H. “Strategizing in the
Real World.” International Journal of Technology
Management8, nos. 1–2 (1993):
77–85.
38.
WelchD.E., and WelchL.S. “Using Personnel to
Develop Networks: An Approach to Subsidiary Management.”
International Business Review2, no. 2 (1993):
157–68.
39.
WelchL.S. “The International
Marketing of Technology: an Interaction Perspective.”
International Marketing Review2, no. 1 (1985):
41–53.
40.
WelchL.S. “Internationalization
by Australian Franchisors.” Asia Pacific Journal of
Management7, no. 2 (1990):
101–21.
41.
WelchL.S., and
LuostarinenR. “Internationalization:
Evolution of a Concept.” Journal of General
Management14, no. 2 (1988):
34–55.
42.
WelchL.S., and
LuostarinenR. “Inward-Outward
Connections in Internationalization.” Journal of
International Marketing1, no. 1 (1993):
46–58.
43.
WelchL.S., and
Wiedersheim-PaulF. “Initial Exports—A
Marketing Failure?” Journal of Management
Studies17, no. 3 (1980):
333–44.
