Internationalization in different industrial contexts

The important questions in a firm's internationalization strategy deal with which national markets they should enter and the order in which the chosen markets should be entered. Different theoretical scenarios provide a range of answers to these questions. In this article, it is argued that the appropriateness of the theories depends on the industrial context to which it is applied. The international development of some Swedish firms in mature and high-growth industries is discussed. Whether a theory is appropriate depends on the firms' degree of internationalization and whether the industry is mature or growing. International entrepreneurship literature has been shown to enhance understanding of the early stages of a firms' internationalization in growing industries. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.