Internationalization and Multinational Enterprises New Entry: Contributions of the Uppsala Model

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relevance of the Uppsala model of the firms' internationalization in the current context of globalization. After having analyzed the “stages” construction of the model, we will present an overview of results of the main empirical studies that tested its hypotheses. Thus, the empirical validations of the model will be confronted with the critical analyses of its basic concepts. Finally, we will discuss its application to analyze the establishment of Danone Company, which succeeded to impose itself among the world leaders in the agribusiness industry in a very competitive market.