The impact of business associations on business internalization : the APICCAPS case

Organizations today have to adapt to the complex global market of today. Internationalization stands today as a dominant strategy to fulfil business goals and gain value differentiation. Business Associations (BAs) are platforms who ensure internationalization strategies through an organized structure created to assist their associates. This study aims to understand the impact and influence that BAs on their member’s business internationalization. Based on a case of a BA, APICCAPS, in the Portugal shoe sector, the author intents to comprehend how, when, why does someone reach for BA’s. It is a fact that BAs have an important role in business internationalization; therefore the author saw the lack of study on this phenomenon as a gap, an opportunity to understand and share a Portuguese case in a valuable sector