Management of Internationalization

To view internationalization as a process has been fruitful. The propositions suggested within the stream of research based on this notion have received wide empirical support (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977, Johanson and Vahlne, 1990, Bilkey, 1978; Cavusgil, 1980, Cavusgil,1984; Dichtl et al., 1984; Denis and Depelteau, 1985; Kogut and Singh, 1986). Less effort has been spent on managerial issues of the internationalization process. This chapter has as its objective to explore some of these issues and suggest some thoughts on how they can be dealt with. We confine ourselves to discussing some aspects of entry into a foreign market, which we have cut out as a section of one of the two dimensions of the internationalization process. The entry process is a part of the development of the firm’s engagement in a particular foreign market. The entry is normally preceded and followed by other activities being integral to the internationalization process. The second dimension, the sequential entry into new markets, is not dealt with at all.