The Role of Business Knowledge in the Process of Internationalization of Companies

The main aim of this paper is to identify the knowledge elements that play a crucial role in the internationalization process of companies. Reviewing research literature shows, Companies that use the two-dimensional model for business knowledge divide knowledge into two dimensions: explicit or tacit nature, and the nature of the codified or uncodified. This model states that the tacit knowledge is difficult to transfer to others, while the explicit and uncodified knowledge component is the simplest form of knowledge for transferring to others. The statistical population of the study consist of managers and experts of the foreign trade sector (export and import) of companies that were present in international markets. For this purpose, 104 companies were selected from among five different types of business in East Azerbaijan province, and for data gathering, questionnaire was applied. Findings show that all variables of individual competency of employees, organizational beliefs and habits, and corporate procedures are related to the degree of internationalization. However, the strongest link between internationalization and various elements of business knowledge was identified in the field of organizational beliefs and habits, and individual competence of employees.