VELOCIDAD EN EL PROCESO DE INTERNACIONALIZACIÓN DE LAS EMPRESAS: REVISIÓN DE TEORÍAS DIVERGENTES.

This paper reviews main theories that explain the speed at which occurs the firm's internationalization process. Sequential theories have traditionally explained internationalization by a series of stages that are approached by the firms gradually. This process, from a progressive viewpoint, serves the Internationalization Model proposed by the Uppsala School and firm's innovation theories. However, these approaches are not able to explain the behavior of firms called International New Ventures which have international activities since their start-up or, the case of firms that exhibit accelerated internationalization episodes or phases of involution with profound reorientation to domestic markets after the occurrence of certain events. These phenomena show that internationalization is not a lineal, incremental and unidirectional process as first theories refer, but it is a process that can occur at an accelerated rate even from the moment of conception of the firm, or it can also occur that firms cease to be international and be oriented to local markets after a critic episode has occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]