A cluster's internationalization platform as a springboard for internationalization of firms in the age of digitalization

This study draws on the Uppsala Internationalization Process Model with an experiential learning-commitment mechanism that focuses on business network relationships to facilitate an understanding of how the formal and informal networks of a cluster amalgamate during international establishment. In-depth interviews were conducted with key informants from a leading Swedish cluster – Geographic Information Solutions (GIS) to answer the question: what platform does the cluster organization create to enable the internationalization process in order for its partner organizations to effectively manage the challenges brought on by the cataclysmic changes in business logic of the age of globalization and digitalization? We found that GIS began by building international links with other similar clusters in the Nordic, Baltic and European countries and learned that to be in forefront of innovation it needed to mix its core competencies with complementing areas of technology from the world’s biggest hotspots in geospatial technologies. This enabled GIS to work with cross-cluster international innovation. A sustainable internationalization platform created by a cluster is of importance because digitalization is fundamentally disrupting traditional industries, labour markets and the global economy and transforming various facets of exchange. For companies, this means opportunities for new business models spanning from marketing and sales channels to logistics. This study contributes to the literature by examining how location can help firms to increase their competitiveness and thus offer support in gaining access to global value chains and new markets, by focusing solely on exogenous activities that serve to improve cooperation with global markets, which are critical to cluster dynamics.