Globex Holdings Changing Global Trade | Page 8

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PROCESS OF INTERNATIONALIZATION

The process of developing these strategic and organizational attributes lies at the heart of the internationalization process through which a company builds its position in world markets.

This process is rarely well thought out in advance, and it typically builds on a combination of rational analysis, opportunism, and pure luck. Nonetheless, it is still possible to discern some general patterns of behavior that firms typically follow. The most well-known model for internationalization was developed during the 1970s by two Swedish academics based in Uppsala, who described foreign-market entry as a learning process. The company makes an initial commitment of resources to the foreign market, and through this investment, it gains local market knowledge about customers, competitors, and regulatory conditions. On the basis of this market knowledge, the company is able to evaluate its current activities, the extent of its commitment to the market, and thus the opportunities for additional