This article discusses firm's international behavior under two major theoretical streams: the motivational and the strategic perspectives. The research aims at identifying the motivational and strategic factors involved in international decisions. It is also intended to examine the potential differences between these factors based on firm size, international experience, strategies of market entry and involvement in international sales. A survey was carried with 73 Brazilian exporters classified according to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The results showed that managerial factors and those associated with internal and external markets were the driving factors of international businesses of the companies that were researched; rational and centralizing elements determined the international strategic process; and significant differences were found between the majority of these factors in relation to size, methods of market entry and involvement in international sales.
Internationalization; international trade; process of strategy formation; international motivation; organizational factors
