Firm internationalisation within the Muslim world

Business transactions within the Muslim world have received only limited attention from International Business scholars. This exploratory study investigates whether a shared adherence to the Islamic tradition can reduce perceived cultural distance between countries, thus affecting the internationalisation pattern of firms. The experiences of six smalland medium-sized enterprises in the electronics and electrical (E&E) sector in northern Malaysia are presented. The findings suggest that a mutual affiliation to Islam among countries does contribute to reducing cultural distance, thus also affecting the path of firm internationalisation. 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. * Tel.: +60 4 653 2895; fax: +60 4 653 2792. E-mail address: [email protected] 1 See http://geert-hofstede.com/.