Riassunto analitico
There are multiple reasons that induce firms to expand their activities to foreign markets, but, whatever the specific reason, this goes back to the desire to exploit advantages of foreign markets and create or strengthen the competitive advantage. After an overview of the motives that may lead a firm to expand abroad, the entry modes into foreign markets and the theories of internationalization, the focus of this research is moved to the role of the company’s experience in the matter of internationalization. It is defined and discussed the experiential knowledge construct and its importance and implication during the internationalization process of the firms. In particular it is treated the Uppsala Theory, the model that builds on the belief that experiential knowledge minimizes the risks and uncertainty of export operations, which in turns are developed through incremental steps depending on the level of knowledge possessed. Finally, data collected in an international firm are discussed in order to verify the role of experiential knowledge in its international expansion and if it followed and internationalization process based on incremental commitments as predicted by the Uppsala Model.
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