Internationalisation in a Network Environment: a Conceptual Model of how Professional Service Firms Internationalise

Professional service firms (“PSFs”) increasingly rely on internationalisation to drive their growth strategy. Their professional reputation and networks of relationships are critical due to the high knowledge complexity of their services. Yet international business process theory (“IB”), while identifying learning as the critical tool for addressing foreign market risk, provides little insight into how PSFs build relationships and reputation for internationalisation. Our qualitative multiple case research study of the PSF internationalisation process identified five phases of interplay between learning, relationship and reputation building. These findings extend IB theory by revealing the role of reputation and relationship building during the internationalisation process and contribute to our understanding of how PSF organisations build international networks and develop their reputations.