Cultural and Socioeconomic Differences and the Impact on entrepreneurial internationalization: a comparative study between two multinational companies

Abstract

Expatriation has emerged as an important issue in managerial studies. This study aims to analyze the influence of socioeconomic and cultural factors in the expatriation management and the internationalization of two companies from culturally close countries. Therefore, a qualitative study of multiple cases was carried out in a Brazilian and Portuguese multinational. Through a semi-structured script, 30 interviews were performed, which were analyzed by the content analysis technique with the assistance of Max-Qda software (2007) in the organization of analysis categories. The reports of the Portuguese and Brazilians are very similar when they discuss the differences between the two countries. Al though they are close in relation to their history, the understanding difficulty in the use of the Portuguese language, the differences in decision-making and the still existing prejudices, mark the interaction between professionals and companies, revealing proximity and distance. However, the main highlighted aspects that influence the expatriation and internationalization of the analyzed companies are the labor legislation for expatriates, bureaucracy, corruption, 'Brazilian way', the difference of infrastructure and basic education.