Central European Business Review 2018, 7(1):46-57 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.195

The Successful Internationalization of Intesa Sanpaolo Bank in Central and Eastern Europe: Acquisitions, Insidership and the Uppsala Model

Stefano Valdemarin
PhD Researcher in International Business, University of Lyon, Jean-Moulin – iaelyon, Magellan Research Centre, Lyon, France, stefano.valdemarin@univ-lyon3.fr

The study of internationalization processes of multinational enterprises and its evolution is one of the most important topics in the domain of international business. According to the Uppsala model and the business network view, being an insider in local networks is a fundamental issue for service companies such as banking groups because of their strong intangible dimension. That’s why VUB Bank is an extraordinary bank. It has a little office in Prague, the only one in Czech Republic, and, at the same time, owns 233 branches in Slovakia. But this bank is a subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo, the biggest Italian banking Group, one of the leaders in the European market. Starting from this empirical observation, and using an inductive methodology, this paper will try to explain how the Intesa Sanpaolo Group successfully created a business network in Slovakia, its first market by total assets in Central and Eastern Europe. Our study shows that Banking Groups can overcome the liability of outsidership through a progressive commitment and a “local-passport strategy” based on the acquisition of existing companies.

Keywords: Internationalization; Uppsala Model; mergers and acquisitions; networks; Central and Eastern Europe
JEL classification: F23, G21

Received: May 8, 2017; Revised: December 20, 2017; Published: March 31, 2018  Show citation

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Valdemarin, S. (2018). The Successful Internationalization of Intesa Sanpaolo Bank in Central and Eastern Europe: Acquisitions, Insidership and the Uppsala Model. Central European Business Review, 7(1), 46-57. doi: 10.18267/j.cebr.195
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