International Competition in Mixed Industries

The collective knowledge of practitioners is useful for theory building. One of the roles of researchers is to tap practitioners' knowledge, analyse it and integrate it into a collective knowledge base (a process similar to the design of expert systems). This paper analyses the collective knowledge of practitioners in four mixed industries: cables and wires, chocolate and sugar confectionery, paint, and footwear, and compares their collective espoused theory of the dynamics of international competition to mainstream economic and strategic theories. Several salient concepts are discussed: the formation of regional competitive territories, the dual effect of marketing intensity, the influence of demand factors (international customers and high-growth market), and the role of strategic innovators across borders. These concepts deviate from mainstream theories of internationalisation and suggest new theoretical developments. Also the framework derived from this collective knowledge base can return to managers and be used for crafting international strategies.