Networks in internationalisation

• Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to provide a review of literaturethat analyses the internationalisation of the firm, through the function androle of networks.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 23 papers (published between1988 and 2008) explicitly using network as a research framework to studythe internationalisation process of the firm were selected. They have beenanalysed according to a range of factors, including the author, journal,time frame in which they were published, type of focal firm, country oforigin of focal firms, market entered, methods applied in the studies,theories adopted and research topic.Findings – Networks have emerged as one of the dominant frameworksused to explain the phenomenon of internationalisation. Having originallybeen applied in studies of firms from developed countries entering similarmarkets, network theories are now as popular in studies of firms bothoriginating in and entering emerging markets. This review also finds thatboth qualitative and quantitative methods have been adopted in thestudies; however, few papers have tried to combine the two. Furthermore,the network approach has been used for comparative analysis withfindings from FDI theory, as well as to supplement international newventure (INV) and born global theories. Lastly, this review highlightstopics that have been explored in previous studies and suggests areas forfurther research.Originality/value – This is the first review paper on this subject and assuch it contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the networkapproach and assists in understanding the internationalisation phenomenonof the firm.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Business studies

Företagsekonomi

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kap (subject category)