Abstract:
Previous research on internationalisation has mainly focused on the collection and use of
information. In this article we examine the role of information internalisation in international
business activities of Vietnamese firms. A theoretical model incorporating key antecedents and
outcomes of information internalisation is developed. The antecedents are market orientation and
learning orientation, and the outcomes are international orientation and foreign sales intensity.
A survey of 144 Vietnamese internationalising firms was conducted to test the model in conjunction
with its two competing models by means of a two-step approach to structural equation modelling.
We found that both information internalisation has direct and indirect effects (mediated by
international orientation) on foreign sales intensity. Further, market orientation and learning
orientation underlie information internalisation. Implications for managers and directions for future
research are also addressed.
