Hardback
The Helsinki Internationalization Process Model
Foundations and Future Agenda
9781035332038 Edward Elgar Publishing
This timely book introduces Reijo Luostarinen’s Helsinki Model of firm internationalization processes to a new audience. As one of the neglected treasures of the field of International Business (IB), the Helsinki Model has remained largely inaccessible to a global readership – until now.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contents
More Information
This timely book introduces Reijo Luostarinen’s Helsinki Model of firm internationalization processes to a new audience. As one of the neglected treasures of the field of International Business (IB), the Helsinki Model has remained largely inaccessible to a global readership – until now.
The book features Luostarinen’s original PhD thesis, and commentaries that explore and extend his work. Contributors illustrate the enduring applicability and the future potential of the Helsinki Model. They engage with Luostarinen’s legacy to re-energize research on the internationalization processes of the firm, a cornerstone of the IB field.
Students of IB, organization studies and management theory will benefit from the original ideas and in-depth analysis provided in this book. It is also a useful resource for established scholars, particularly members of the European International Business Academy and the Academy of International Business.
The book features Luostarinen’s original PhD thesis, and commentaries that explore and extend his work. Contributors illustrate the enduring applicability and the future potential of the Helsinki Model. They engage with Luostarinen’s legacy to re-energize research on the internationalization processes of the firm, a cornerstone of the IB field.
Students of IB, organization studies and management theory will benefit from the original ideas and in-depth analysis provided in this book. It is also a useful resource for established scholars, particularly members of the European International Business Academy and the Academy of International Business.
Critical Acclaim
‘This carefully crafted book offers engaging papers, including personal insights from those who knew Reijo Luostarinen. We are reminded of his tour de force research program that spanned three decades and generated foundational insights from smaller firms based in smaller markets. This is a must read to appreciate the multidimensionality of internationalization and the importance of decision-maker characteristics in that process.’
– Nicole Coviello, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada and LUT University, Finland
‘This book aims to reintroduce the Helsinki Model of the internationalization processes of the firm into mainstream international business research. It does so in an excellent series of chapters that outline, critique and extend the model in an engaging fashion. For the wider IB research community, the book introduces concepts and constructs that illuminate the behavioural tradition of internationalization research.’
– Peter J. Buckley, 200th Anniversary Chair in International Business, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK
‘Renouncing easy linear understanding of the internationalizing firm bolting on or deleting activities – the “Helsinki Model” of Reijo Luostarinen and more recent contributions, including by editors Piekkari and Welch – unseats us from our time-reversible worldview: the whole firm and its context always changes, along with the way we must think.’
– Jeremy Clegg, University of Leeds, UK
‘This book makes a highly valuable contribution to the field of the internationalization process of the firm by highlighting the contributions of Professor Reijo Luostarinen. The included commentaries show his deep insights, largely derived from close contact with business managers: he offered a realistic view of the internationalization process, addressing both inward and outward operations, the interplay with organizational capacity, the role of the decision-making manager, and more.’
– Ulf Holm, Uppsala University, Sweden
– Nicole Coviello, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada and LUT University, Finland
‘This book aims to reintroduce the Helsinki Model of the internationalization processes of the firm into mainstream international business research. It does so in an excellent series of chapters that outline, critique and extend the model in an engaging fashion. For the wider IB research community, the book introduces concepts and constructs that illuminate the behavioural tradition of internationalization research.’
– Peter J. Buckley, 200th Anniversary Chair in International Business, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK
‘Renouncing easy linear understanding of the internationalizing firm bolting on or deleting activities – the “Helsinki Model” of Reijo Luostarinen and more recent contributions, including by editors Piekkari and Welch – unseats us from our time-reversible worldview: the whole firm and its context always changes, along with the way we must think.’
– Jeremy Clegg, University of Leeds, UK
‘This book makes a highly valuable contribution to the field of the internationalization process of the firm by highlighting the contributions of Professor Reijo Luostarinen. The included commentaries show his deep insights, largely derived from close contact with business managers: he offered a realistic view of the internationalization process, addressing both inward and outward operations, the interplay with organizational capacity, the role of the decision-making manager, and more.’
– Ulf Holm, Uppsala University, Sweden
Contents
Contents
Foreword ix
Introducing the Helsinki Model of the internationalization processes of the firm 1
Rebecca Piekkari and Catherine Welch
PART I REIJO LUOSTARINEN: INTERNATIONALIZATION OF
THE FIRM (1979)
Preface 22
1 Introduction 25
2 Development of the theoretical framework for the study 37
3 Lateral rigidity and international involvement of the firm 53
4 Smallness and openness of domestic markets as pressure determinants
for internationalization 61
5 Determining the internationalization strategy of the firm 78
6 Dynamics of internationalization of the firm 125
7 Summary, conclusions and recommendations 139
Bibliography 149
Appendices 158
PART II COMMENTARIES
8 Organizational capacity and inertia: their importance in the
internationalization process of firms 171
Lawrence Welch
9 The Helsinki internationalization process model: a perspective from Uppsala 176
Mats Forsgren
10 Big ideas with little hullabaloo: Luostarinen’s little trodden path 183
Peter Liesch
11 Systems selling and package deals: an under-researched area in
international business 192
Pervez Ghauri
12 Reijo Luostarinen’s approach to value chain activity in firm
internationalization: a key contribution to entry mode research 200
Gabriel R. G. Benito and Bent Petersen
13 Time and dynamism in the Helsinki internationalization process model 208
Eriikka Paavilainen-Mäntymäki and Leila Hurmerinta
14 The Helsinki internationalization process model and POM posture:
deviations, explanations, and future research 220
Mika Gabrielsson
15 The role of foreign-born employees in inward–outward
internationalization of SMEs: an organizational capacity perspective 235
Johanna Niskavaara
16 Lateral rigidity and microfoundational perspectives in firm
internationalization: revisiting Reijo Luostarinen’s insights 249
Aleksi Niittymies
17 Seeing the forest for the trees: building a managerially relevant theory
of firm internationalization 261
Ciara O’Higgins
18 Longitudinal research projects with societal interaction: what can we
learn from studying the dynamics of IB phenomena? 272
Perttu Kähäri
19 Reijo Luostarinen and Jorma Larimo: a multigenerational research
agenda on international business in Finland 285
Ahmad Arslan and Minnie Kontkanen
20 Reijo Luostarinen’s legacy: a personal perspective from outside academia 292
Mikko Kosonen
Afterword: connecting the dots: reflections on Reijo Luostarinen’s thesis and
life’s work 297
Niina Nummela
Foreword ix
Introducing the Helsinki Model of the internationalization processes of the firm 1
Rebecca Piekkari and Catherine Welch
PART I REIJO LUOSTARINEN: INTERNATIONALIZATION OF
THE FIRM (1979)
Preface 22
1 Introduction 25
2 Development of the theoretical framework for the study 37
3 Lateral rigidity and international involvement of the firm 53
4 Smallness and openness of domestic markets as pressure determinants
for internationalization 61
5 Determining the internationalization strategy of the firm 78
6 Dynamics of internationalization of the firm 125
7 Summary, conclusions and recommendations 139
Bibliography 149
Appendices 158
PART II COMMENTARIES
8 Organizational capacity and inertia: their importance in the
internationalization process of firms 171
Lawrence Welch
9 The Helsinki internationalization process model: a perspective from Uppsala 176
Mats Forsgren
10 Big ideas with little hullabaloo: Luostarinen’s little trodden path 183
Peter Liesch
11 Systems selling and package deals: an under-researched area in
international business 192
Pervez Ghauri
12 Reijo Luostarinen’s approach to value chain activity in firm
internationalization: a key contribution to entry mode research 200
Gabriel R. G. Benito and Bent Petersen
13 Time and dynamism in the Helsinki internationalization process model 208
Eriikka Paavilainen-Mäntymäki and Leila Hurmerinta
14 The Helsinki internationalization process model and POM posture:
deviations, explanations, and future research 220
Mika Gabrielsson
15 The role of foreign-born employees in inward–outward
internationalization of SMEs: an organizational capacity perspective 235
Johanna Niskavaara
16 Lateral rigidity and microfoundational perspectives in firm
internationalization: revisiting Reijo Luostarinen’s insights 249
Aleksi Niittymies
17 Seeing the forest for the trees: building a managerially relevant theory
of firm internationalization 261
Ciara O’Higgins
18 Longitudinal research projects with societal interaction: what can we
learn from studying the dynamics of IB phenomena? 272
Perttu Kähäri
19 Reijo Luostarinen and Jorma Larimo: a multigenerational research
agenda on international business in Finland 285
Ahmad Arslan and Minnie Kontkanen
20 Reijo Luostarinen’s legacy: a personal perspective from outside academia 292
Mikko Kosonen
Afterword: connecting the dots: reflections on Reijo Luostarinen’s thesis and
life’s work 297
Niina Nummela
