Buying abroad : the case of inward internationalisation processes

Recently, some research has focused on and acknowledged the significance of buyer-initiated international exchange in the field of international business studies. In these cases, it is the importer that actively engages in international exchange and drives the internationalisation process. However, relative to the volume of research into the internationalisation of exporting firms, there is a clear lack of research that seeks to unravel the process of internationalisation when it is "inward-driven". This paper presents two cases studies of Swedish importing firms, providing insight into the mechanisms that underlie inward internationalisation. The paper thereby adds to the knowledge about such phenomena, especially through the use of qualitative, longitudinal case studies which also include the pre-internationalisation history of the firm and its founders. It also provides implications for management regarding the need to recognise the strategic significance of international purchasing, and for policy makers regarding the attitudes towards imports and import promotion. The paper shows that inward internationalisation can be conceptualised as a process whereby knowledge about foreign markets is used to satisfy a local demand, i.e. accessing foreign assets for the purpose of engaging in domestic market exchange. An increasing commitment to international markets could be seen, relating to the growth of marketing activities in the domestic market as well as an increasing stock of experiential knowledge arising out of the international operations. The paper also demonstrates that presently available approaches and models developed for outward internationalisation can be used to understand inward internationalisation. Particularly, the discussion is based on both the network approach and the Uppsala model of internationalisation, and indicates that such a theoretical integration can be a fruitful approach to explain relationship development in a network. Finally, the paper reveals that much more empirical research is needed in this area, especially as a incorporating both inward- and outward-driven processes of internationalisation gives rise to a dynamic framework that can provide insights into why international exchange occurs in the first place.