ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes whether partner commitment to export co-operation leads to a higher degree of success. It focuses on the Finnish promotion programme—export circles. The book explores the following: Are international new ventures (INVs) different from one another in terms of their international development? If they are, how and why are the differences manifested in these firms? It also focuses on the three issues: Are the commonly used export performance measures useful? Is rapid internationalization profitable? Does the relationship between internationalization intensity and a firm’s export performance differ across firms with different resources? The book investigates a firm’s export adaptation and performance by adopting, as an increasingly accepted theoretical framework, the resource-based view of the firm. It analyzes the relationship between international joint ventures (IJV) performance and the relative importance of the selection criteria.
