Late starter: a situation or a process?

• Author(s): Silva, Susana Costa ; Madureira, Ricardo
• Date: 2004
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/5253
• Origin: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
• Subject(s): Internationalisation; Market knowledge; Case studies; Glass industry
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

This paper critically evaluates the assumptions of the network model of internationalisation in terms of a firm’s market knowledge. The discussion is illustrated with the entry of a Portuguese firm into the United States, which can be regarded as a situation of Late Starter. The case suggests that foreign market entry cannot be dissociated from the firm’s ability to acquire knowledge through relationships with other firms. The notion of situations in the network model of internationalisation should thus be reformulated in order to consider the sub-processes they are associated with. One such a process is the firm’s acquisition of objective knowledge and experiential knowledge.