Piggybacking: A Quick Road to Internationalisation

Abstract

The issue of “piggybacking”, an old and early form of strategic partnering, is addressed. In particular, piggy‐backing is discussed as a strategy to serve foreign markets, especially where the market has high entry barriers. The main requirements for piggybacking are producing quality goods and finding firms to carry them for you. Piggybacking is a viable alternative for firms with limited exporting activities, limited resources and lack of foreign market knowledge. The authors assess the pros and cons for both “carrier” and “rider”, and give case examples of recent piggy‐backing activity, including the implications for developing countries.

Citation

Terpstra, V. and Yu, C.J. (1990), "Piggybacking: A Quick Road to Internationalisation", International Marketing Review, Vol. 7 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651339010000299