Experiential Knowledge and Costs in the Internationalization Process
- PDF / 483,021 Bytes
- 24 Pages / 450 x 777 pts Page_size
- 18 Downloads / 212 Views
D. Deo Sharma**** Umea Business School
Abstract. Using a behavioral approach, this study identifies and delineatescomponentsof experientialknowledgein the internationalization process.Three hypothesesare developedand tested. They center aroundthe lack of knowledgein the areas of foreignbusiness,foreign institutionsand firminternationalization, as well as the effect that this lack of knowledge has on managers' perceivedcost in the internationalizationprocess.With the help of a LISREL-basedstructural model,the threehypothesesare testedon a sampleof 362 servicefirms. The analysis shows that lack of internationalization knowledgehas a strongimpacton the lack of both businessand institutionalknowledge which,in turn, influencethe perceivedcost of internationalization. But there is no direct effect of lack of internationalizationknowledgeon perceivedcost of internationalization. INTRODUCTION In furtheringour understandingof the dynamicsof the internationalizationof firms,process models have played a significantrole [Bilkeyand Tesar 1977; *Kent Eriksson is Associate Professor at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University.His researchinterestsinclude internationalbusiness,marketingand strategy.His researchhas been publishedin the Journalof InternationalBusinessStudies,and the Service IndustriesJournal. **JanJohansonis Professorof InternationalBusinessat the Departmentof BusinessStudies, Uppsala University.His researchinterestscenter on internationalizationprocesses,business relationshipsand networksin multinationalenterprises.ProfessorJohansonhas publishedin severalacademicjournals includingthe Journalof InternationalBusinessStudies,Journalof Marketing,Journalof ManagementStudies, InternationalMarketingReview,International BusinessReview,and InternationalStudiesof Managementand Organization. ***AndersMajkgArdis a doctoralcandidateat the Departmentof BusinessStudies,Uppsala University.His researchinterestsinclude foreign market entry and internationalizationof serviceindustries. ****D. Deo Sharma is Professor of Marketing at the Ume'a Business School, and CopenhagenBusinessSchool. His researchinterestsare managementcontracts,governmentTNC relationships, and internationalization.His research has been published in the InternationalMarketingReview,InternationalBusinessReview,Journalof GlobalMarketing, ScandinavianJournalof Management,and Advancesin InternationalMarketing The authors are grateful to Professor Dag Sorbom, Department of Statistics, Uppsala University, for his valuable help concerning methodology, and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions. Received: February 1996; Revised: November 1996 & February 1997; Accepted: February 1997. 337
Palgrave Macmillan Journals is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Journal of International Business Studies ® www.jstor.org
338
JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, SECOND QUARTER 1997
Cavusgil 1980, 1984; Czinkota 1982; Johanson and Vahlne 1977, 1990; Luostarinen1980; Reid 1983]. In these models, market-spec
Data Loading...
