Re-Internationalization v/s Initial Internationalization: Comparison of Modes of Operations
- 1 Indian Institute of Management Raipur, Raipur, India
Abstract
Re-internationalization is defined as firms’ re-entry into international operations after they ha ve abandoned all their previous internationalization efforts. In this paper, we report findings from a survey administered among senior-level managers of re-internationalized Indian firms where we studied the differences in firms’ choices in modes of operations during re-internationalization phase as compared to initial internationalization phase. The results from the survey indicated that firms tend ed to go for high involvement modes of operations during re-internationalization as compared to the relatively low involvement modes of operations undertaken during initial internationalization. This trend of going for higher involvement modes of operations was more visible in firms that had a presence in a relatively higher number of countries during the re-internationalization stage. This incremental nature of internationalization, i.e. going from initial low involvement modes of operations toward high involvement modes of operations as firms gain ed expe rience in both time and space from their initial through re-internationalization attempts, found support for the Uppsala model of internationalization. Being among the first studies on the topic, we expect this study to serve as a foundation for researchers to explore deeper related queries. This study also has meaningful practical and policy implications.
- Welch, C.L. and Welch, L.S. (2009) Re-Internationalisation: Exploration and Conceptualisation. International Business Review, 18, 567-577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2009.07.003
- Mudambi, R. and Zahra, S.A. (2007) The Survival of International New Ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 38, 333-352.
- Crick, D. (2002) The Decision to Discontinue Exporting: SMEs in Two U.K. Trade Sectors. Journal of Small Business Management, 40, 66-77. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-627X.00040
- Welch, L.S. and Wiedersheim-Paul, F. (1980) Initial Exports—A Marketing Failure? Journal of Management Studies, 17, 333-344.
- Bernini, M., Du, J. and Love, J. (2016) Explaining Intermittent Exporting: Exit and Conditional Re-Entry in Export Markets. Journal of International Business Studies, 47, 1058-1076. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-016-0015-2
- Dominguez, N. and Mayrhofer, U. (2017) Internationalization Stages of Traditional SMEs: Increasing, Decreasing and Re-Increasing Commitment to Foreign Markets. International Business Review, 26, 1051-1063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2017.03.010
- Figueroa, L.E.O., Osuna M.A.A. and Reynoso, C.F. (2014) Determinants of the Internationalization of the Firm: The Accelerated Model vs. the Sequential Model. The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, 8, 81-93.
- Freeman, S., Deligonul, S. and Cavusgil, T. (2013) Strategic Re-Structuring by Born-Globals Using Outward and Inward-Oriented Activity. International Marketing Review, 30, 156-182. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651331311314574
- Janjuha-Jivraj, S., Martin, L. and Danko, A. (2012) Internationalization of a “Born-Again Global”: How a Family-Led Crisis Enabled the Realization of Internationalization Opportunities. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 25, 201-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2012.10593569
- Vissak, T. and Francioni, B. (2013) Serial Nonlinear Internationalization in Practice: A Case Study. International Business Review, 22, 951-962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.01.010
- Khanna, T. and Palepu, K. (1997) Why Focused Strategies May Be Wrong for Emerging Markets. Harvard Business Review, 75, 41-51.
- Javalgi, R.G., Deligonul, S., Dixit, A. and Cavusgil, S.T. (2011) International Market Re-Entry: A Review and Research Framework. International Business Review, 20, 377-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2010.08.001