L.M. Ericsson's internationalization in Africa from 1892 to 2012 : A study of key factors, critical events, and core mechanisms

Abstract: This thesis identifies three important shortcomings in firm internationalization research. The first problem is that the field has generally neglected the role of time and history, and evaluations of how well theories of firm internationalization cope with the test of time are therefore limited. The second matter is that the entire continent Africa has been and remains almost a blind spot in firm internationalization research generally. The third and more specific issue is that knowledge of the internationalization of telecom-vendors is limited. This thesis simultaneously addresses all three shortcomings through a study of the history of telecom-vendor Ericsson’s internationalization on the African continent between 1892 and 2012. A mechanism-based model is proposed based on analyses of the theoretical affiliations of key factors and critical events in the history of Ericsson in Africa. This mechanism-based model clearly demonstrates the need to study the process of firm internationalization from a multifaceted view, and it challenges the established, more universal theories of firm internationalization. This multifaceted view shows firm internationalization to be a co-evolutionary process driven by the accumulation of local knowledge, the establishment of relationships, and the goal to discover opportunities. However, the paradox of this view is that it requires having context-specific models of firm internationalization. These models must be limited, at the very least, to specific industrial settings and specific foreign territories, because of the need to consider important external aspects such as competition, customer selection, and fundamental economic prerequisites.