The use of e-commerce site for partner search

The internationalization process of firms have received much scholarly attention in the literature. In particular, foreign market entry decisions, which pertain to market selection and modes of control, have been well studied in the international business domain. However, relatively little is known about the means by which the managers search for, and come to identify, exchange partners in foreign markets. The identification of specific partners is crucial to foreign market entry. Without a foreign customer, distributor, or agent, no exchange can take place. Hence, the study examines how firms search for foreign exchange partners. Specifically, we will investigate the factors that influence the use of e-commerce site for partner search.