Routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation

This article investigates the routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation. We advance a research framework that elaborates Johanson and Vahlne’s (1977) model and complements it with two variables, widely analysed in the literature but not considered in the original model: the nature of the technological knowledge needed to be transferred to run foreign operations and the nature of the customer-supplier interaction context of the focal firm. We identify nine dynamic relationships among the constructs of our research framework. We applied our research framework to eleven Italian firms that have internationalised part of their operations in Romania. The cross-case analysis shows how the choice among routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation is influenced by the nature of the technological knowledge and the customer-supplier interaction context. Theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are drawn and discussed