The article aims at identifying the organizational factors that influence the strategic international process. In addition, it analyzes the influence of organizational and strategic factors over the degree of internationalization in terms of financial and non-financial performance indicators, respectively, volume of sales and the extension of the activities in different foreign markets. A survey was carried out with the 73 Brazilian companies in the manufacturing sector that develop international business through different ways, from the export to direct foreign investment. The findings enhance that the organizational factors associated with the size of the company influence the international strategic process of the companies researched significantly, and the development of this process is marked out by rational and centralizing elements. The degree of internationalization in which the companies researched in this study are has been influenced by organizational factor associated with the international experience and strategic factors associated with the deliberate strategy formation mode (top-down) and the choice of international partnerships.
Internationalization; Strategic international process; Organizational characteristics; Internationalization degree of the company; International business
