Networks and Australian professional services in newly emerging markets of Asia

Purpose – To understand better how professional services firms (PSFs) use networks to gain entry into newly emerging markets (NEMs), to analyze how such firms are assisted in this process by prior networks and to provide a framework of this process.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology utilised in this study is qualitative and exploratory. Ten interviews across three large firms (legal, finance and media consulting) were used for the data gathering. Analysis incorporated open, axial and selective coding.Findings – Prior networks provide impetus to the foreign entry aspirations of PSFs and are critical to the process. The specific functions of network actors in the entry process are to influence the firm and to provide intelligence‐gathering, arising from their participatory role in the foreign market. A framework is presented, supporting network theory as a key theoretical underpinning of strategy formulation, decision‐making and implementation by PSFs entering NEMs.Research limitations/implicatio...