Ignorant and impatient internationalization?

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent classical models of firms' internationalization process can explain behavior among totally new types of firms. More specifically, we confront the traditional so‐called Uppsala model of internationalization with data and experiences from such firms in order to analyze and discuss some basic elements in the model. Design/methodology/approach Case studies of newly established and fast growing Internet‐related firms – rather dissimilar to the firms on which the Uppsala model was originally based – are examined. Findings The paper finds that, first, incremental behavior does not seem to be of major concern for our Internet‐related firms, at least not in comparison with factors related to first‐mover‐advantage or following‐the‐herd behavior. Second, stakeholders other than those included in the Uppsala model seemed to have a profound influence on the studied firms, forcing them to go abroad much faster than the model would predict. Third, related to the former point, the existence of an explicit and active internationalization strategy was observed among the firms, not fully in line with the reactive and adaptive firm behavior in the Uppsala model. Originality/value The results indicate that the internationalization behavior of new types of firms like Internet‐related firms might deviate considerably from what the Uppsala model predicts. However, as this behavior was far from successful in the studied cases, the results also indicate that the managerial implications of the Uppsala model are maybe more relevant than were originally intended.

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