Abstract

GONZALEZ, Andrés  and  MORALEJO, Silvia. Estrategias de internacionalización y procesos cooperativos en la industria alimentaria: El caso de la región valenciana española. Agroalim [online]. 2008, vol.13, n.26, pp.73-87. ISSN 1316-0354.

Based on development phases theory, also known as Uppsala Model, which has been demonstrated as the most suitable to explain the internationalization of the SMSE, the first aim of this paper is to identify how the Valencian food industry internationalized and classify those industries according to the internationalization level reached. Basically, there are two dimensions, which analyze how the food industry internationalized: in one, we prove that the internationalization process of the food industry implies a gradual integration in foreign markets that begins from the export and ends with direct foreign investments, as stated in the Uppsala Model. The other aspect of the analysis refers to the form of internationalization. That is, it is concerned with finding out if the food companies strategy is about cooperation (through agreements with other companies) or not. In this way, the company behavior shows that in most cases, the company prefers the individual way of internationalization. This knowledge about company actions is essential for, in second place, offering a reflection about the reasons that can be influencing the most common strategy chosen.

Keywords : internationalization; cooperation; uppsala model; smse; valencia; Spain.