Determinants of successful international expansion of professional service firms: A case study of Arabian firms
| Published date | 01 March 2011 |
| Pages | 119-132 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/20425961201000010 |
| Date | 01 March 2011 |
| Author | Marwan N. Al Qur’an |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management |
World Journal of Enterprenuership, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 6, Nos. 1/2, 2010
119
Copyright © 2010 WASD
Abstract: This study looks at drivers of internationalisation and the important
location decision factors contributed to the selection of a beneficial country
for international expansion. One in-depth and information-rich case study of
the Arabian premium international professional service firms was purposively
undertaken. The results show that both firm and location-specific factors, firm’s
competitive advantage, company’s management attitudes and profit growth
were the main drivers of internationalisation. Further, the study reveals that the
pre-development of country qualitative and quantitative location factors was
elemental to attain profitable foreign country choice. Accordingly, these findings
have significant theoretical and practical implications to the internationalisation
and foreign market entry of professional service firms.
Keywords: Internationalisation, foreign market selection, Arabian international
service firms, case study.
Marwan N. Al Qur’an*
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia
DETERMINANTS OF SUCCESSFUL
INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION OF
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRMS:
A CASE STUDY OF ARABIAN FIRMS
INTRODUCTION
International business (IB) and the
internationalisation activity of firms have
received growing research attention among
scholars during the last decade due to the
significant contribution of these movements
to the economic and social development in
both home and host countries (Akbar &
McBride 2004; Calle Pardo 2001; Jansen &
Stokman 2004).
According to the ‘eclectic paradigm
of international production’ proposed by
Dunning (1980, 1988), firms which decide
to internationalise their business activities
confront a very critical, challenging and
strategic decision which relates to deciding
about the foreign country for their
international operations. Consequently,
once the country has been selected, firms
have to choose the most appropriate entry
strategy for that selected foreign market
such as exporting, franchising, licensing,
joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary
(Buckley & Casson 1998; Edwards &
Buckley 1998; Hill, Hwang & Kim 1990).
Moreover, a conceptual strategic decision-
* Department of Management & Marketing, College of Industrial Management, King Fahd University of
Petroleum & Minerals, KFUPM, P.O. Box 841, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia, E-mail: m_alquran@hotmail.com,
namarwan@kfupm.edu.sa
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