Content area
Abstract
An investigation is performed of one stage in the process of internationalization - the formation of a manufacturing subsidiary or joint venture in an overseas market. The firms analyzed were taken from the Extel UK Quoted Companies List of more than 3,000 companies quoted on the UK Stock Exchange. The study involves 50 of the manufacturing transnational operation companies in the European Community (EC) and their parent companies. The results do not support a narrowly incremental view of the process of internationalization. A step-wise internationalization process is the exception rather than the rule. The analysis suggests that the dichotomy between planned and reactive, or opportunist, investments can be substantially explained by the international experience of the parent companies. The results support a life cycle model that is based on the international development of the firm rather than the market or product.