Internationalization processes of firms as a challenge to handle exchange relationships
2006 (English)Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
Purpose - Researchers have mostly focused on entry processes and entry forms. What happens to a firm that has been in a foreign market for a long time would be an issue of its ability to handle important exchange relationships. This paper aims to increase our knowledge of what it takes to establish and handle exchange relationships with some actors so as to achieve a win-win and stable exchange in a foreign market.
Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth case study was used to study the phenomenon, where the conceptual framework, interconnected networks in value creation, was used to analyze the case.
Findings – It was found out that the multinational company (MNC) has been able to prioritize and/or invest time and resources to closely co-operate with some important customers that have brought about ‘win-win’ and stable exchange relationships between them. It was also found out that mutual orientation and adaptations have helped them to overcome any mismatch resulting from cultural influences.
Research limitations/implications – The in-depth study with only one case is a stark limitation. Future research should explore the same phenomenon by studying several cases; every effort should be made to also interview customers and not only suppliers.
Practical implication – Despite limitations, this study’s results have significant implication for a firm in that its internationalization process would also be the ability to establish and handle relationships that enhance the development of competitive capabilities that enable it to compete in any market.
Originality/value – The major contribution of this study is to emphasize the managerial problems associated with the establishment and handling of business relationships with some important actors (e.g. suppliers and customers) in foreign markets.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2006.
Keywords [en]
Internationalization, “win-win” exchange relationships, MNC, foreign market
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-4956OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-4956DiVA, id: diva2:326238
Conference
European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, 4th Workshop on International Strategy and Cross Cultural Management, Toulouse, France, September 29-30
2010-06-222010-06-222015-02-18Bibliographically approved