Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-2019

Abstract

The burgeoning of ibusiness firms in the modern digital economy challenges the received internationalization theory. Given that ibusinesses such as social networking sites create value by providing a digital platform for users to interact with one another, we employ a user-network perspective and externalization logic, suggesting that ibusinesses' internationalization process depends critically on users' collective interactions, instead of being solely driven by firms' market commitments, as noted by the Uppsala model. However, ibusinesses may suffer from liabilities of outsidership due to the boundedness of international network effects. Drawing on social network theory, we demonstrate that such liabilities can be mitigated by first diffusing the ibusiness platform in countries with higher clout. Our analysis using a unique dataset of mobile ibusiness platforms finds empirical support for the hypotheses. We discuss theoretical implications for the network approach of the Uppsala model in the digital era.

Keywords

digital, network effect, platform, outsidership, internationalization, foreign market entry

Discipline

E-Commerce | International Business | Strategic Management Policy

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Journal of International Business Studies

Volume

50

Issue

2

First Page

172

Last Page

192

ISSN

0047-2506

Identifier

10.1057/s41267-018-0176-2

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-018-0176-2

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