Internationalization versus de-internationalization: Lessons from Aeroméxico

Abstract The main objective of the present study was to analyze the internationalization and de-internationalization strategies of the Mexican airline Aeroméxico to establish a relationship between the two phenomena, the novelty of this paper being to study internationalization and de-internationalization together and not separately. To achieve the aim of this research, a qualitative case study approach was adopted, using secondary sources of information, and a model was developed to explain the relationship between the two types of policy. The results indicate that internal and external factors influenced the company’s decisions in both respects. The main finding shows that internationalization and de-internationalization behaved together and that, under certain circumstances, this relationship became stronger and therefore the two became more dependent on each other. The main conclusion is that internationalization and de-internationalization are closely related since the latter was a consequence of the former. Recommendations for future research were included.