기업 국제화 결정요인 탐색을 위한 사례연구

Abstract

Determinants of Internationalization of a firm : A Case Study

Jung Moo Kim

Department of Business Administration, The Graduate School of Business Administration, Pukyong National University

Two main extant theories of the internationalization of a firm are the evolutionary theory and the revolutionary/innovation theory. While the former, the Uppsala theory, explains the internationalization of a firm as a sequential involvement in foreign markets, the latter stresses the drastic changes(or leapfrogging) in a firm’s level of foreign involvement. Though both theories contribute much to explain the pattern of firms’ internationalization processes, still some questions remain to be explained: does a firm adopt one of the patterns exclusively when it expands its business into foreign markets? Are both of the internationalization theories competing against or complementing to each other? Researches based on the evolutionary theory have shown firms’ knowledges and experiences of foreign markets are the critical determinants of internationalization, though those based on the innovative view emphasizes the firm’s competitive advantages and the managers’ strategic capabilities. This research aims to show that the extant theories are so complementary to each other that when adopted both of them simultaneously they can fully explain the patterns of internationalization of a firm. In this research single case analysis is used for this purpose. The results of this study also suggest several implications on the conditions when evolutionary or revolutionary pattern of internationalization takes place. While, in general, the evolutionary patterns are shown in early stage of internationalization or when the external environments of a firm, especially the industry conditions are in stable, the revolutionary patterns are shown when a firm is in volatile situations.