Abstract

CARRIZO MOREIRA, António. The internationalization of industrial SMEs through multinationals: Presentation of some cases from the automobile and electronics sectors. Cuad. Adm. [online]. 2007, vol.20, n.34, pp.89-114. ISSN 0120-3592.

This article analyzes international activities in the vendor -customer relation. It studies the internationalization process for small and medium Portuguese industrial enterprises, taking into consideration the specific channel that multinationals represent for them in the industrial environment. The objective of the paper is to establish, in particular, how multinational customers condition their vendors’ internationalization process and how subcontractor vendors react to the strategic dilemmas of internationalization conditioned by their multinational customers. This article focuses on the study of five cases chosen from a sample of 20 SMEs that are subcontractors for four multinational companies in the automobile and electronics industries. The conclusions drawn complement the theoretical framework of inter-organizational relations. They also indicate that the international trajectory of the vendors may be limited by the episodic nature of the relation, by the technological capability to develop new products, by the international networks in which the vendors are located, and by changes in the supply chain activities.

Keywords : Internationalization; subcontracting; cooperation strategies; supply chain; SMEs.

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