Learning Through Imports in the Internationalization Process

The world economy will need even more globalization in the post-pandemic 2021 decade

“…These transactions are covered under a contractual alliance agreement where the licensor, or intellectual asset provider, has a self-interested incentive to teach their foreign partner the auxiliary production techniques beyond just the patent, design, brand, or licensed intellectual asset – for the simple reason that royalties are typically linked to licensee sales, and therefore the licensor has an incentive to help the licensee succeed. Even imports of physical products and services have a learning value to the importer (Grosse & Fonseca, 2012 ).…”

Inward–outward connections and their impact on firm growth

“…Specifically, we consider differences in growth between firms that undertake one type of operation or both simultaneously. Firms opting for the latter option may benefit not only from the individual benefits that each operation brings individually, but also from the inter-connections between inward and outward operations in terms of accessing and sharing diverse, related and complementary knowledge (Bertrand, 2011;Di Gregorio et al, 2009;Grosse & Fonseca, 2012;Hä tö nen, 2009;Karlsen et al, 2003). In the following sections we analyze the impact of undertaking inward and outward operations simultaneously on firm growth.…”

“…In addition to the connections derived from the transfer of knowledge in general terms, however, some studies include the transfer of specific knowledge. In fact, performing inward and outward operations in the same market makes it possible for firms to gain access to: (i) knowledge of market institutions, which may lead them to select specific outward operations (Grosse & Fonseca, 2012); or (ii) local technical advantages of suppliers and reduced costs for tailored inputs or customization (Bertrand, 2011). In a similar way, outward operations in a particular market may also exert a positive effect on the performance of inward operations in the same market, as market knowledge makes it easier to determine the market value of technological breakthroughs and changes (Wiklund & Shepherd, 2003).…”

“…Previous research has typically concentrated on outward or inward operations individually to examine how firms accumulate knowledge (Blomstermo, Eriksson, Lindstrand, & Sharma, 2004;Bozarth, Handfield, & Das, 1998;Grosse & Fonseca, 2012). Most studies have focused on international strategies based on developing outward operations, which are related to selling products or services in foreign markets through exporting, contractual agreements or foreign direct investment (FDI) in overseas subsidiaries to serve foreign markets.…”

Competitive low-tech manufacturing and challenges for regional policy in the European context--lessons from the Danish experience

“…Multiple contributions highlight the importance of suppliers as a source of new knowledge and inputs which would be difficult to obtain elsewhere (Boly et al 2000;Garibaldo and Jacobson 2005;Hervas-Oliver et al 2011b;Grosse and Fonseca 2012). Thus, suppliers from more researchintensive industries are important sources of innovativeness for low-tech firm (Robertson and Smith 2008;Heidenreich 2009;Trippl 2011;Hervas-Oliver et al 2012).…”