ICT and the trading negotiation for international sale contracts in the Pacific Alliance firms

Abstract

Introduction. The information and communication technologies (ICT) have change the way that firms carry out their international business transactions because small, medium, and large companies are increasingly adopting these tools in order to enhance the productivity into operational processes including the commercial and industrial internationalization. Objective. This article aims to identify the most used ICT in the international trade negotiation process for achieving import and export contracts within the Pacific Alliance companies.  Methodology. Then, a survey in 401 internationalized firms was carried out into this regional trade bloc comprised of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Likewise, a descriptive analysis is applied to present the results of the study highlighting the most used ICT into the international trade negotiation and, similarly, an ordered logistic regression is applied in order to explain both the level of importance given to ICT in the negotiation process and the use frequency within this trade agreement.  Findings. The research also reveals that ICT are essential for each international negotiation phase, especially in the preparation phase. Conclusion. The use of specialized ICT such as e-procurement, ERP, CRM, NSS, and scenario building software increases as the size of the companies also increases.