Firm internationalization in the peripheral world: a case study of Construtora Norberto Odebrecht

Abstract

This article aims to discuss paradigms that might shed some light on the process of internationalization of Construtora Norberto Odebrecht (CNO). We argue that this model — currently more widely disseminated on account of the great means of communication — is underpinned by the concept of “capitalismo de laços” [networked capitalism], which is outlined in the work of Sérgio Lazzarini. We aim to disengage from this analytical perspective and propose another one, based on a global understanding of history and on the primacy of local constraints. This new approach perceives CNO’s international practice in two key moments. From 1980 to 1990, the construction company chooses the Latin-American region due to a series of factors, such as: (a) to benefit from the infrastructure of the Latin-American region — resulting from its specific peripheral-based model of development; (b) to work in a region greatly influenced by Brazilian geopolitics; (c) the geographical proximity. On the other hand, we believe that from 2000 onwards this internationalization practice changes. Consolidated as a transnational firm, CNO starts to draw on the Brazilian government’s strategy of forming “national champions” as a means to enhance its presence in the international market. To support this argumentation, we draw on the combination of works that approach the peripheral development in addition to an analysis of public, internal sources — such as the Odebrecht Informa newsletter — made available by CNO. Thus, we intend to historicize the internationalization of this construction company, based on the elaboration of interpretive paradigms to analyze this process by emphasizing the relation between underdevelopment constraints and the internationalization of firms.