Internationalization of Clustered Companies and the Influence of Resources: A Case Study on Wine Clusters in Brazil and France

Although the importance of local/regional factors in firms' international competitiveness has been increasingly recognized, few studies have investigated the relationship between clusters and the internationalization process of clustered-firms. This theme assumes special relevance for industries that are predominantly organized in territorial agglomerations, or clusters, as is the case of the wine industry. The objective of this paper is to identify the resources generated by the cluster and analyze their influence in the internationalization process of clustered companies. A case study was carried out on two wine clusters: Provence, in Southern France, and Serra Gaucha, in Southern Brazil. Resource-based theory provides the underlying analytical framework. Both theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.