The Internationalisation Maturity Of The Firm

In the 21st century, even small firms can reach customers located in different, often remote, parts of the world. In fact, internationalisation has become a common phenomenon that affects the majority of companies worldwide. Recent research emphasises that there are numerous determinants of a company’s competitive advantage in the international business environment, including product quality, price, and market knowledge. Much less attention, however, has been paid to the role of business relationships. The task of determining the impact of business relationships on performance poses a considerable challenge. In the book, business relationships are operationalised by a set of characteristics and determinants which influence a company’s competitive advantage. The contributors here refer to these characteristics and determinants as components of the company’s internationalisation maturity. It is argued that a higher level of internationalisation maturity increases the firm’s performance. The book includes both conceptual discussions on the role of firms’ business relationships in the internationalisation process and results of extensive empirical studies. In order to verify the concept of a firm’s internationalisation maturity, a mixed methodology was used, combining quantitative (almost 300 companies) and qualitative (40 case studies) research. As such, the book provides useful insights for academics, students of management and international business, and business practitioners.

Drawing on a series of case studies from Finland, this book examines the role of networking in the internationalisation process of family firms. Providing a comprehensive overview of recent literature alongside the empirical analysis of 24 family firms, the authors use theoretical concepts from family business research to create a model specifically for the internationalisation and networking of family firms. An insightful read for those interested in international and small business, this book offers practical implications for the successful internationalisation of family firms and sets the agenda for future research in the field of family business.

The book was prepared by the academics and doctoral students of the Faculty of International Business and Economics of the Poznań University of Economics and Business to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the University and the 10th anniversary of the Faculty itself. The subject of this Volume reflects the variety of issues that are researched by academics from all departments of the Faculty. The rationale for publishing this Volume was to signal current work and research progress in the area of international economics, business and management. As the title of the Volume suggests, we need to anticipate changes and implement a new approach to face the challenges in the world economy for it is transforming in an unprecedented way now, at a fast pace, and the global economic map is constantly redrawing. Papers published in this Volume are written by individual authors and workgroups. They are results of research conducted in departments and have been assigned to eight chapters discussing crucial aspects of the world economy. The deliberations are held on a micro- and macroeconomic level in both theoretical and empirical terms. We hope that the contents of individual papers will inspire both readers and authors themselves to make further studies, to carry out follow-up research, to network with one another in order to find answers to the most important problems of the world economy and international business.

This is the 10th volume of The Academy of International Business book series bringing together the latest research on firm strategies and management and the internationalization of the firm from the 29th Academy of International Business UK conference. The four main themes of the book are subsidiary location and performance, internationalization and firm strategy, the internationalization of the small firm and the Internet and e-commerce.

Internationalisation has been a binding request for firms dealing with the challenges of the present-day realities. Extant international business publications have recently begun to point out the relationship between the notions of ‘business model’ and ‘internationalisation’, yet the filed needs considerably more attention. The core aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the ways in which business models and internationalisation impact one another in the process of initiating and expanding international business activities. The analysis makes it feasible to detect the core issues of the interdependences between business models and internationalisation to facilitate management decision-making and implementation of pertinent firm internationalisation incorporating the application of appropriate business models. In this book, the business model is applied to explore the specifics and aspects of firm internationalisation processes. Innovating the business model is analysed as a persuasive means for augmenting the propensities of firms to internationalise. The book enriches the comprehension of the significance of business model innovation as an enabler of firm internationalisation, in view that scares in what manners business model innovation facilitate firm internationalisation. The book chapters address a broad range of issues encompassing: the general roles of business model in firm internationalisation, the relationships between digital business models and platforms on one side and firm internationalisation on another, how business models determine the internationalisation of services firms, the interplay between business models and firm internationalisation in specific contexts. It will, therefore, be of interest to researchers, academics and advanced students in the fields of international business and management.

Relationship management (RM) is an essential part of business, but its success as a business model can be hard to measure, with some firms embracing a model that is truly relationship-orientated, while others claim to be relationship-orientated but in fact prefer transactional short-term gain. This open access book aims to develop a mid-range theory of relationship management, examining truly relationship-orientated firms to discover not only what qualities these firms have that make them successful at the RM model, but also what benefits this model has for the firm. It addresses questions like how RM-mature companies achieve and sustain competitive advantage, and what determines the scale and scope of these firms, illustrating with case studies. This book will be of interest to scholars studying leadership and strategy, especially those interested in relationship management, business ethics and corporate social responsibility. It will also be of interest to professionals looking to develop their understanding of relationship management.

This book is the outcome of the research project “Internationalization Patterns of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Operating in High-Tech Industries”, funded by the National Science Centre (NCN) of Poland. It presents updated knowledge on the internationalization patterns of high-tech firms, with particular insights into their main characteristics such as innovations and research and development. The theoretical framework of the book is built on a literature review and the survey of existing research. In turn, the results of the research project which gave rise to the book are presented, highlighting the internationalization path of firms operating in the high-tech and medium-high-tech sectors.