Internationalization and relationship marketing: an introduction

Purpose – This paper aims to integrate the concepts of the internationalization process and relationship marketing (RM). It identifies two stages for internationalization (pre-internationalization and post-internationalization) and assigns RM components for each step. Design/methodology/approach – The study undertakes a review and synthesis of the extant literature examining internationalization and RM. It then identifies two stages of the internationalization process and its steps, associated with RM components. Findings – The study highlights that each step in the internationalization process requires appropriate RM component to be implemented successfully. Practical implications – Findings of this study highlight the importance of managing internationalization for firms intending to enter to foreign market and identify the issues that need to be understood, if firms are to effectively manage their internationalization strategy. Originality/value – The paper is the first to integrate the concepts of internationalization and RM and to identify the factors that make managing these two types of firm's strategy.