Internationalization of Digital Firms from Emerging Markets - Multiple Case Study Based on Chinese Digital Firms

Abstract: Digitalization has reshaped the internationalization process of most firms, especially giving a new way for digital firms. Most of the previous research was based on the internationalization of developed countries, and the perspectives of emerging markets were relatively limited, and digital firms were also no exception. Exploring the uncharted territory of international business was the main motivation for writing this thesis, which aims to investigate motives and the internationalization path through the case study of four companies from China, the most representative emerging market. The findings show that the motivation of digital firms from emerging markets is influenced by internal factors and contextual factors such as institutional settings. Their choice of markets is determined by the social distance and digital level of the host countries, as well as market potential. They tend to actively choose to enter foreign markets by developing strategic local networks and striking a balance between replicating domestic strategies and localization. Besides, adapting to the local business environment and how to deal with digital security issues are challenging their performance in new markets.