Dancing with Giants: A Unified Framework for Cooperation Networks, Speed of Internationalisation, and Performance

Abstract

This study aims to explore whether the speed of internationalisation—measured by the change in international scale and the change in international scope—can mediate the relationship between network clustering (cooperation networks) and clustered firms’ performance. A quantitative methodology was used to accomplish this purpose, and the research model was tested using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Based on a sample of 1491 Portuguese firms, this paper showed that network clustering directly and positively impacts clustered firms’ performance. When considering the effect of the speed of internationalisation, the study revealed that network clustering also has an indirect, mediated impact on firms’ performance, through the change in international scope (geographical diversification). Conversely, when accounting for the mediation of the change in international scale (degree of internationalisation), the results confirmed that this dimension of speed does not mediate the relationship between network clustering and firms’ performance. This evidence, therefore, stresses the role of geographical diversification in shaping how well the clustered firms perform based on the networks established through industrial clusters.