Firms' use of organizational, personal, and intermediary networks to gain access to resources for internationalization

• Published date: 01 July 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/tie.22043
• Author: Janina Sundermeier,Svante Andersson
• Date: 01 July 2019

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Firms' use of organizational, personal, and intermediary

networks to gain access to resources for internationalization

Svante Andersson

1

| Janina Sundermeier

2

1

Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and

Learning (CIEL), Halmstad University,

Halmstad, Sweden

2

Department of Information Systems, Digital

Entrepreneurship Hub, Freie Universität Berlin,

Berlin, Germany

Correspondence

Svante Andersson, Center for Innovation,

Entrepreneurship and Learning (CIEL),

Halmstad University, Box 823, S-301

18 Halmstad, Sweden.

Email: svante.andersson@hh.se

Funding information

KK Foundation; Swedish Research Council

This study explores which networks are beneficial for gaining resources for firms' internationali-

zation. Little is known about firms' use of organizational, personal, and intermediary networks to

gain access to resources for internationalization. Firms are seeking resources through their orga-

nization's relationships (organizational networks) and individuals' personal contacts (personal

networks). Governmental and industry actors are implementing networks to promote interna-

tional growth and act as an intermediary between business actors (intermediary networks). We

conduct in-depth interviews with firms and representatives for intermediary networks comple-

mented with a survey. The findings reveal which resources are accessed through the different

networks. We find organizational networks provide considerable access to most resources

(except financial resources) that are beneficial for internationalization, whereas intermediary

networks provide access to reputational, human, and market resources. Personal networks pri-

marily provide access to human resources. This study contributes to theory by giving a more

fine-grained understanding of how different types of networks give access to different

resources valuable for internationalization.

KEYWORDS

export promotion, intermediary networks, internationalization, organizational networks,

personal networks, resources

1|INTRODUCTION

Companies' internationalization processes require input from

resources, such as from employees who are specifically aware of cul-

tural differences and national regulations. Personnel and other types

of resources are also crucial for the development and adaptation of

products in terms of international standards and the establishment of

marketing strategies in different markets. Financial and physical

resources are needed, among other purposes, to cover travel

expenses and to establish a presence in international markets. These

examples provide an explanation for why access to resources is crucial

for implementation of international growth strategies. Resources

required for internationalization can include technological, market,

human, financial, reputational, and various physical resources

(Tolstoy & Agndal, 2010). The full range of resources required to

exploit international business opportunities is not easily accumulated

in a single firm. Therefore, firms tend to explore distinct ways to lever-

age resources controlled by partners in networks.

Gaining resources for internationalization requires access to dif-

ferent types of networks. Many studies have treated networking as a

unidimensional process and have overlooked specific characteristics

of different network types. Thus, research has called for more evi-

dence on how specific network types influence firm development

(Eberhard & Craig, 2013; Harris & Wheeler, 2005; Inkpen & Tsang,

2005). Eberhard and Craig (2013) identify two types of networks:

organizational networks and personal networks. Other types of net-

works important for firms' internationalization are those organized by

other actors than the focal firm or the entrepreneur. We define these

types of networks as intermediary networks. These networks can, for

example, focus on industry or export promotion activities

(O'Gorman & Evers, 2011). In many countries and regions, policy

makers encourage and support the internationalization of firms

through government-funded export promotion organizations (EPOs)

(O'Gorman & Evers, 2011). Thus, we examine three types of networks

in this study: organizational networks, intermediary networks, and

personal networks.

DOI: 10.1002/tie.22043

Thunderbird Int. Bus. Rev. 2019;61:609–621. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/tie © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 609