Decision Making in the Internationalization of the Service Industry and the Applicability of Manufacturing Industry Internationalization Theories

This study examines the decision-making process of service industry internationalization and the applicability of manufacturing industry internationalization theories through a literature review. With advancements in technology and relaxed regulations from the 1993 GATT Agreement, service companies are becoming key players in business internationalization. Service marketing research has focused on understanding the definition and characteristics of services, such as intangibility, simultaneity of production and consumption, perishability, and heterogeneity. Existing research primarily addresses why service companies seek overseas markets and whether manufacturing internationalization models apply to them. This study reviews both environmental and internal company factors influencing decision-making for overseas expansion and analyzes the applicability of manufacturing theories to service industries, suggesting the need for classification based on service characteristics.