Deinternationalisation: towards a coevolutionary framework

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine deinternationalisation through the lens of coevolutionary theory. The intention is to offer a fuller understanding of the processes and strategic challenges involved in this process and establish a path for future research in this area of internationalisation theory.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws links between emerging themes in organizational theory and internationalisation to aid the conceptual development and understanding of the process of deinternationalisation.FindingsThe exploration of links between organizational theory and internationalisation allows for the process of deinternationalisation to be more fully distinguished. The paper identifies processes of managed selection and retardation that will inform this process of organizational change.Research limitations/implicationsWhilst there are concerns over the applicability of concepts from natural sciences within the social sciences, the paper does offer a number of research propositions to guide future academic investigation within the field of deinternationalisation.Originality/valueBy linking research on coevolution to the study of internationalisation, the paper contributes to the understanding of the emergence of differing paths and trajectories involved in the process of international contraction and expansion. Furthermore, coevolutionary theory allows the process of deinternationalisation to be conceptualized as a means of generating and guiding future study on this under‐explored area of internationalization research.

The dynamics of failure in international new ventures: A case study of Finnish and Irish software companies

“…Additionally, external factors, such as technological shifts or environmental shocks in the domestic and/or foreign locations, may trigger INV failure (Cardon et al, 2011). These external misfortunes have also been found to significantly affect internationalisation (Turner, 2012;Vissak and Francioni, 2013;Welch and Welch, 2009).…”

A born global’s radical, gradual and nonlinear internationalization: A case from Belarus

“…fast at first, then slow: has not attracted full focus from any literature stream yet, except, to some extent, some studies on "epochs" and "episodes" (Eckert/Mayrhofer 2005;Kutschker et al 1997) and also, shortly, in Olejnik and Swoboda (2012) and Freeman et al (2013) fast slow or none at first, fast after that: like described in the literature on born-again globals (or born-again internationals) and late starters (Johanson/ Mattsson 1988;Bell et al 2001;Sheppard/McNaughton 2012) very fast: like described in the literature on born globals (or born internationals) and international new ventures (Oviatt/McDougall 1994;Bell 1995;Madsen/Servais 1997;Cavusgil/Knight 2009;Coviello 2015;Knight/Cavusgil 2015) Taking into account the firm's nonlinear internationalization path -not only slowing down its internationalization, but also not exporting to some countries in all years -we can support the findings of Bell et al (2001: 177) that "firms may experience 'epochs' of rapid internationalisation, followed by periods of consolidation or retrenchment" and Macharzina and Engelhard (1991) and Kutschker et al (1997) that periods of "leaps" can be followed by more stable international development periods. As the firm reduced exports to some markets and, in some years, did not export to South Korea, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Venezuela, we can state that it de-internationalized (Calof/Beamish 1995;Benito/Welch 1997;Swoboda/Olejnik/Morschett 2011;Turner 2012) and as it continued exporting there later, it also re-internationalized Javalgi et al 2011). As it did this several times, we can call it a serial nonlinear internationalizer (Vissak/Francioni 2013;Vissak/Masso 2015).…”

“…The firm's internationalization was affected by its home country's situation/context (Cuervo-Cazurra et al 2015;Dikova et al 2016;Zander et al 2015), including its political environment (Akhter/Choudry 1993;Welter et al 2008;Turner 2012;Kahiya 2013;Figueira-de-Lemos/Hadjikhani 2014;Gnizy/ Shoham 2014;Vissak 2014). The owners were afraid that the government would take over the firm.…”

“…Some firms -serial nonlinear internationalizers -de-and re-internationalize several times (Vissak/Francioni 2013;Vissak/Masso 2015) and use combinations of entry and exit strategies (Axinn/Matthyssens 2002). Changes in a firm's internationalization path can be caused by the need to adapt its strategy due "to changes in the firm and in the external environment" (Trudgen/Freeman 2014: 557) including changed economic policies and conditions (Akhter/Choudry 1993;Turner 2012;Figueira-de-Lemos/Hadjikhani 2014;Gnizy/Shoham 2014;Vissak 2014): for instance, competition (Javalgi et al 2011), demand or exchange rates (Welch/Wiedersheim-Paul 1980). Moreover, they can be affected by the firm's resources -including its network relationships (Hadjikhani 1997;Turner 2012) and foreign market knowledge and/or experience (Gnizy/Shoham 2014) -and capabilities (Javalgi et al 2011; Cuervo-Cazurra/Narula/Un 2015; Dikova et al 2016).…”

“…Changes in a firm's internationalization path can be caused by the need to adapt its strategy due "to changes in the firm and in the external environment" (Trudgen/Freeman 2014: 557) including changed economic policies and conditions (Akhter/Choudry 1993;Turner 2012;Figueira-de-Lemos/Hadjikhani 2014;Gnizy/Shoham 2014;Vissak 2014): for instance, competition (Javalgi et al 2011), demand or exchange rates (Welch/Wiedersheim-Paul 1980). Moreover, they can be affected by the firm's resources -including its network relationships (Hadjikhani 1997;Turner 2012) and foreign market knowledge and/or experience (Gnizy/Shoham 2014) -and capabilities (Javalgi et al 2011; Cuervo-Cazurra/Narula/Un 2015; Dikova et al 2016). Managers' attitudes (Benito/Welch 1997), perceptions regarding the market's importance (Sleuwaegen/Onkelinx 2014) and the firm's (dis)satisfaction with its internationalization (Javalgi et al 2011;Swoboda et al 2011) and home market situation (Cuervo-Cazurra et al 2015) can also affect internationalization decisions.…”