Capabilities and propensity for cooperative internationalization

The purpose of this paper is to provide an in‐depth appraisal of the internal drivers motivating firms to select cooperative internationalization processes.

Building on the resource‐based view, and using a sample of 401 Spanish firms, the authors examine the direct and indirect effects of ability to internationalize on propensity for cooperative internationalization.

Capabilities are a positive predictor of propensity for cooperative internationalization, though this relationship is mediated by the adoption of a differentiating competitive strategy. In contrast, the propensity for international growth through alliances decreases as the firm's degree of involvement abroad increases.

Firms that aim for international expansion should accumulate internationally transferable capabilities. Managers should reflect on the best ways to grow in foreign markets considering the maturity of the firm's internationalization process. Managers must assess whether the costs of searching for cooperative internationalization opportunities are worth paying.

The accumulation of internationally transferable capabilities does not alone determine a firm's international growth through cooperative internationalization; a strategy of competitive differentiation also plays a role. Moreover, the learning process of international growth reduces firms' need to cooperate.