Strategies and logics of internationalization

Abstract

The race between firms to acquire capacities worldwide has evolved in a chronological order which centered at first around products, then around position to move later on to skills and to focus currently on networks. Similarly, when observing the evolution of the different international development strategies, it was found out that they have started by the exportation and the setting up of production subsidiaries to move more recently to such strategies as mergers & acquisitions and international alliances. The present paper investigates the relationship between the internationalization strategies and logics and comes to the conclusion that, a particular logic is behind every choice made. Indeed, the present work was conducted within the Tunisian food enterprises and helped confirm this hypothesis as it was found out that the position logic is behind the choice of exportation and the creation of production subsidiaries while the choice of partnership is based on the logic of skills. The option for merger, on the other hand, is motivated by the networks logic.