Learning in the Internationalisation Process of Firms: (New Horizons in International Business series)

Research on the internationalisation process of firms shows that the development of experiential knowledge is a major factor in explaining firms' internationalisation. However, our knowledge of how this takes place is limited. The detailed mechanisms of learning, and the effects of the duration of the firm's international operations, have not been studied in depth. Using examples from Denmark, Finland, South Korea, New Zealand and Sweden, the contributors to this book examine these factors and test the basic assumptions of the internationalisation process of firms.In doing so, they explore how firms accumulate knowledge on foreign markets and analyse whether the number of countries in which firms operate influences the quantity and quality of knowledge accumulated. The effect is to expand our understanding of the use of knowledge and the international transfer of knowledge in the internationalisation process. Learning in the Internationalisation Process of Firms will be of great interest to scholars, researchers and practitioners of international business and management.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface Part I: The Internationalisation Process of Firms 1. Building a Model of Firm Internationalisation 2. Three Decades of Research on the Internationalisation Process of Firms 3. The Role of Knowledge in Firms’ Internationalisation Process: Wherefrom and Whereto? 4. Collaborative Experience in Internationalising Firms Part II: Knowledge Accumulation and Knowledge Transfer Issues 5. How to Use Network Experience in Ongoing International Business 6. The Usefulness of Suppliers’ Knowledge in International Markets 7. Is Marketing Knowledge International? A Case of Key Accounts 8. Changing the Organisational Memory in Swedish SMEs Through New International Business Relationships 9. Depth versus Diversity of Knowledge and Its Influence on the Integration of Foreign Business Network Relationships 10. Product Complexity and Knowledge Translation in the Internationalisation Process of Firms: An Integrative Model Part III: Foreign Market Entry Issues 11. Co-operating to Compete Internationally: The Case of a Joint Action Group in the Telecommunications Industry in New Zealand 12. Knowledge Translation in the Internationalisation Process of the Hyundai Motor Company 13. Korean Firms’ Knowledge Translation to the Polish Market: Three Cases 14. Internationalisation of SMEs: Two Case Studies of Finnish Born Global Firms Index

About the Author :
Edited by the late Anders Blomstermo, Formerly Associate Professor of Marketing, Uppsala University and Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden and D. Deo Sharma, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

Review :
'. . . an ensemble of the finest collection of research to date on the understanding of the internationalization process of firms and the role of knowledge and learning within it.' ‘Knowledge and learning are two fundamental concepts in internationalisation of the firm, however, there are few studies that deal with these concepts. This volume provides an excellent review of the most recent research on learning and knowledge transfer and relates it to the internationalisation process of the firm. It is making a considerable contribution to the body of knowledge and will stimulate further research in this important field of international business.' 'Learning has become the key in the internationalisation processes of corporations. This book provides an excellent overview of the major challenges to learning, and will be of strong value for both academicians and practitioners alike. A must to read!'