The determinants of internationalization

: in the portuguese metalworking industry

Abstract

A considerable attention has been devoted by the literature to the determinants of internationalization. This research aims to explore the relation between internationalization and the following determinants: Size, innovation, productivity, international trade fairs, management influence and government assistance. Using a sample of 48 firms in the Portuguese metalworking industry for a period of two years, we have found the following results after controlling for firm‐specific unobserved characteristics. Productivity has a positive impact on internationalization. Size has no significant impact suggesting that size is not a barrier for internationalization and small and medium firms can success in internationalization as well as large firms. Innovation was insignificant suggesting that innovation is not important determinant for internationalization. Also none of international trade fairs, management influence and government assistance determinates has significant effect. Furthermore, our findings indicate that there are unobserved characteristics captured by firm fixed effects, that have significant impact and they are important in explaining firm’s internationalization. Further studies are suggested for future research to investigate these unobserved characteristics. The sample size is the main limitation of the research

Date of Award	14 Jun 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ricardo Ribeiro (Supervisor)