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Impact of Cultural Factors on Internationalisation

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Submitted By devbkalra
Words 1095
Pages 5
Literature Review By
Dev Bhushan Kalra
U5511377

Do Cultural factors have an impact on Internationalization of a firm, with special focus on Retailing/Marketing ?

Eriksson et all [1] state:

“For a firm to go international it has to venture on a journey into the unknown. The step that a firm takes abroad, regardless of the size of the step or whether it is the first or an additional one, involves the commitment of resources to realize perceived business opportunities.”

This research is based on the belief that has been widely proven through various researches, that the process of internationalization is not a simple step-by-step, checklist-based process but instead a whole complex phenomenon that involves more factors than what meets the eye.

What are the factors effecting internationalization process?

Research in this area has been extensive and has been summarised by Cavusgil and Naor (1987), Aaby and Slater (1989) and Zhou and Stan (1998). These factors can be categorised according to whether they are management characteristics, organisation characteristics, external impediments or external incentives to engage in business overseas.
Richard Fletcher identifies the important management characteristics are demographic such as age [2] and education [3]; and those involving aspects of international exposure such as country of birth [4], time spent living overseas [5], and frequency of business trips overseas [6]; those which reflect a knowledge of international business such as familiarity with culture and international business practices [7] and international transactions experience [8]. Other important characteristics include a structured approach to management—such as planning orientation [9] or having a strategic or proactive approach [10]
He also lists down the integral organisational characteristics as willingness to develop products for

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