Organizational learning during internationalization: acquiring local institutional knowledge

Organizational learning plays an important role for firms entering new international markets. Acquiring knowledge of a foreign market helps firms to decrease uncertainties, misunderstandings and risks, allowing them to plan and achieve project expectations more accurately. Little is known, however, about how real estate developers, contractors and engineering firms initially collect important local knowledge for their international projects. This study uses qualitative research methods to explore the sources firms use to acquire different types of local knowledge. The results indicate that organizational learning is a complex process, and although similarities exist, different types of firms use different sources to collect needed knowledge. The research contributes to theory by responding to requests for additional research on how firms actually acquire and develop institutional knowledge. In addition, by understanding the sources used to acquire different types of institutional knowledge, company managers can determine the best sources to employ to acquire knowledge that is important for their specific business.