Inward internationalization as a motivation to go international

• Autor(a) principal: Pereira, António Carlos Campos Canedo Rebelo
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/21645
• topic: Internationalization; Inward; Network; Knowledge; Motivations; Relationship; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

This thesis examines the impact of inward aspects of internationalization in two Portuguese companies from distinct industries: automation engineering (services) and metallomechanics (industry). The goal is to gain a perspective about how buying abroad (products or services) can represent a major role that acts as a trigger to both companies to go international. To achieve this goal, this case-study focuses on the relationship both companies have had with international markets (prior to going international) through their suppliers, wich represented clear motivations to going international. This is a case-study research of ARUM (software industry) and SONAFI (methalomechanics industry). Inward activities should contribute to outward involvement, especially in the early stages of internationalization (Welch and Luostarinen, 1993), and both companies support this statement. In fact, inward activities (such as procurement) were the main push to both companies going international. Only two companies here were objects of study, and many more should be also examined. More in-depth studies should occur, from multiple and distinct activity sectors, in a way that enables a wider range of representation and replication in the future. These findings allow firms to understand that the paths to international markets can also come from within the company itself, its suppliers, its relationship networks, etc. This study attemps to act as a wake up call in regards to inward internationalization as a real trigger in pushing companies abroad and understanding the importance of the knowledge that surrounds a seller-buyer relationship for the company when it comes to start thinking operating abroad.