Journal de recherche en commerce international

1544-0230

Abstrait

An Open Sesame: A Practical Literature Review on Internationalization and Entrepreneurial Venture Theories

Chilumba K. Bwalya

Internationalization of business, firms and entrepreneurial ventures has a robust literature on whose account much research has been done. Unfortunately, the literature is highly fragmented and, in some cases, contested. The principal deliberations under consideration have been based on marketing and economic theories. They span from the classical model, such as the theories of Absolute Advantage and Resource Allocation by Adam Smith. Heckscher and Ohlin through the Internationalization theory of Buckley and Casson to Born-Global and KnowledgeBased-Perspectives. Literature is the Uppsala model speaks to progression internationalization while the Born-Global phenomenal postulates markets, founder entrepreneurial and behavioural arguments. This paper conveys a theoretically disposed literature review with an analytical view of why, how and when businesses and entrepreneurial ventures continue to pursue internationalization. The paper aims to assign meaningful contextualization and arrangement of fundamental theories, models and concepts in business and venture internationalization. This informs an understanding and subsequent choice of internationalization approaches in the industry.

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