De-internationalization of transactional platforms: an exploratory case study

ABSTRACT This study explores why some transactional platforms that have expanded into foreign markets decide to de-internationalize. The empirical part of this study focuses on an anonymized transactional platform called Alpha and its de-internationalization from the host market. Our exploratory case study shows that Alpha’s de-internationalization was driven by a combination of external and internal factors. These factors were related and contributed in different ways to create a downward spiral of de-internationalization. In conclusion, we propose that such a negative spiral in foreign markets is related to a firm’s inability to recontextualize, something that even globally standardized transactional platforms must be capable of doing. The importance of recontextualization highlights the fact that a platform business consists of elements that are embedded in a particular local context.