Internationalisation: A co-evolutionary perspective

SummaryEarlier research has identified several organisational and contextual factors relating to the internationalisation of the firm. However, the relations between these factors and their interaction over time have not been clearly understood. This paper seeks to bridge this gap and to provide a contribution to the internationalisation literature by presenting a co-evolutionary approach whereby the internationalisation path of the firm is seen as a product emerging from the co-evolution of internationalisation activities, organisational resources and industry influences. A longitudinal case study of the internationalisation of Orion Diagnostica illustrates the explanatory potential of the co-evolutionary model and captures the complex and interactive nature of the firm's internationalisation over time. The findings of the study also clarify the constraints that enable or compel a firm to internationalise rapidly and show how and why the status of “born globals” may change radically in the further internationalisation development.