INNOVATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION AS A SINGLE STRATEGY OF THE FIRM: A UNIFICATION OF THEORIES

Recently, innovation and internationalization strategies have explained firm success. Some authors argue that innovation settles internationalization while some others point that internationalization settles the firm’s innovation level. This work unifies these theories, arguing that both are a single strategy of the firm. We also argue that both theories are founded in the same set of variables like technological capabilities, technology investment, alliances and firm decision structure. Tests are based on correlation and regression analysis. We demonstrate the existence of a relationship between innovation and internationalization that can’t be explained by separating them into separate theories.