Abstract
The speed of internationalization or rapid internationalization is one of the most fascinating and researched topics in international business due to its practical importance for the international competitiveness of international firms. This paper aims to identify the determiners of internationalization speed using a systematic literature review of more than 50 current, peer-reviewed articles as research method. Based on an analysis of the topical evolution of the main internationalization theories, the main determiners of internationalization speed are categorized in environmental framing conditions, business resources, and business activities. To advance research about the determiners of internationalization speed, this paper suggests a conceptual framework of three research propositions about the impact of internationalization speed and its variations over time and in different industries and markets using sophisticated research methods to establish causal relationships.
Highlights
1.1 Motivation and Research IssueGlobalization, i.e. the process of international exchange resulting from human interaction and the interchange of material and immaterial goods (Albrow et al, 1994), is advancing at rapid pace
A vast range of theories (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009 & 2020, Welch & Luostarinen, 1988; Rasmussen & Madsen, 2002) have been developed over decades uncertainty on potential determiners of business internationalization speed has rather been increasing than diminishing in recent years, due to controversial discussion on impacts, moderators and mediators in empirically founded contributions since 2015 (Vătămănescu, et al, 2017; Chang & Ogasavara, 2019; Yoon, 2020; Freixanet & Renart, 2020)
The theories and recent extensions are summarized in an author-based overview-table to extract determiners of internationalization speed from these theoretical models and classify them in order to organize the second part of the review
Summary
Globalization, i.e. the process of international exchange resulting from human interaction and the interchange of material and immaterial goods (Albrow et al, 1994), is advancing at rapid pace. A vast range of theories (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009 & 2020, Welch & Luostarinen, 1988; Rasmussen & Madsen, 2002) have been developed over decades uncertainty on potential determiners of business internationalization speed has rather been increasing than diminishing in recent years, due to controversial discussion on impacts, moderators and mediators in empirically founded contributions since 2015 (Vătămănescu, et al, 2017; Chang & Ogasavara, 2019; Yoon, 2020; Freixanet & Renart, 2020). A range of systematic literature reviews specify recent research fields initiated since 2015 e.g. on the phenomenon of very rapid or early internationalization (Cesinger et al, 2012; Matiusinaite & Sekliuckiene, 2015), the impact of internationalization on innovation (Li, 2020), and cognitive foundations of internationalization (Niittymies & Pajunen, 2019). No comprehensive overview on determiners of internationalization speed is available
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