Internationalisation strategies of emerging market firms: evidence from Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the internationalisation paths and strategies adopted by firms from an emerging market and serves as a step towards examining the suitability of prevailing internationalisation theories in the context of emerging market firms. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative methodology and gathered data through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 top managers of internationalised firms from the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. Data were analysed thematically. Findings The results revealed that the internationalisation strategies of firms from Sarawak can be classified under three main categories: motivations and markets, modes and measures. The constraints the firms faced were important determinants of their internationalisation strategies. The internationalisation paths and strategies of the firms were also found to exhibit both similarities to and deviations from the tenets of prevailing internationalisation theories. Originality/value The study contributes knowledge to the literature of both internationalisation theories and internationalisation strategies of emerging markets, in particular, it advances Fey et al.’s (2016) Five M Framework.