Katerina Boncheva

BSc, MA

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Thesis title: Revisiting Internationalization: Multi-Study Insights into the Strategic Considerations and Organizational Determinants of Market Entry, Exit, and Re-entry as Punctuating Points

Abstract: 

International market entry, exit, and re-entry are crucial stages of a firm’s international expansion strategy. While there is extensive research on market entry, the complexities associated with exit and re-entry have received less attention. This thesis addresses this gap by examining these processes through a multi-study approach, framing them as interconnected phases influenced by managerial reasoning and firm-specific capabilities. Through three interrelated studies, the research reveals how, when, and why firms reconfigure their international presence, demonstrating that strategic choices during these key stages are significantly shaped by managerial decision-making and firm-specific capabilities.

A bibliometric analysis spanning five decades maps the foundations of international market entry and exit research and its diffusion into related fields, uncovering six core themes and fifteen diffused clusters. This analysis highlights the fragmented nature of the literature and pinpoints emerging research opportunities. Complementing such scientometric examination, in-depth interviews with experienced international business consultants and managers provide insights into the nuanced strategic considerations underlying firms’ decisions to enter, exit, and re-enter foreign markets. Additionally, these insights shed a novel angle on the critical “time-out” phase—a period of strategic recalibration during which firms maintain a shadow presence in the market while reassessing their international strategies.

Drawing on the capability-based view and real options perspective, empirical evidence from a quantitative study involving 2,618 firm-year observations from North American manufacturing firms (1990–2020) indicates that financial underperformance often leads to market withdrawal, although specific capabilities play a crucial role in this process. Strong marketing capabilities can accelerate exits due to poor performance, while robust R&D and operations capabilities can assist firms in overcoming setbacks and avoiding market exit.

Overall, the thesis enhances our understanding how organizational factors—capabilities, performance indicators, and strategic choices—interact to shape a firm’s international trajectory, emphasizing internationalization as a punctuated process. This provides valuable guidance for practitioners and researchers navigating the complexities of international market reconfigurations.

Work submitted and (to be) presented at:

“Staying Or Leaving? Resource Redeployment And Real Options Effects In Accelerating Or Mitigating Firms’ International Market Exit Decisions”, paper accepted at a competitive session at Global Marketing Conference 2025, Hong Kong (24-27 July 2025)

“Understanding International Market Entry and Exit: A Scientometric Study on The Symbiotic Pattern of Knowledge Diffusion”, paper accepted at an interactive session at AIB Annual Meeting 2025, Louisville, Kentucky, USA (June 28-3 July 2025)

“Redeploy or postpone?! The role of home-host country distance and organizational capabilities in international market exit decisions”, paper presented at a competitive session at AIB Annual Meeting Doctoral Consortium, Seoul, South Korea (July 2-6, 2024)

“Exploring the What, Why and How Behind Firm’s International Market Exit and Re-entry Behavior”, paper presented at AMA Global Marketing Conference - Doctoral Colloquium, Verona, Italy (May 24-26, 2024)

“Explaining Firm’s International Market Exit Behavior: The Differential Effects of Firm Capabilities on International Market Exit Decision”- paper presented at a competitive session at AMA Global Marketing Conference Competitive Session - Verona, Italy (May 24-26, 2024)

“Exit or postpone? International Market Exit Behavior: The Roles of Organizational Capabilities in Explaining International Market Exit Decision”, paper presented at a competitive session at the Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference, Cardiff, UK (June 15, 2023)

“The Phenomenon of Reverse Internationalization: Towards Conceptualization”, poster presented at the Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference, Cardiff, UK (June 15, 2022)

“Reverse Internationalization: Antecedents, Conceptualization, and Outcomes,” paper presented at the AMA Global Marketing SIG Conference - Doctoral Colloquium, Chania, Greece (31 May - 3 June 2022)

Teaching

• Conducted tutorials, both on-site and online, tailored to diverse learning preferences, cultural and education backgrounds at undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) level, in groups of up to 30 students.
• Provided mentorship and oversight to 3^rd year undergraduate students, steering them through collaborative module assignments, ensuring their successful completion and comprehension.
• Graded exams and module assignments, providing both formative and summative feedback to students. 
•  Entrusted to lead the coordination with fellow tutors to maintain consistent instructional standards and enhance classroom experience across the cohort.
• Continuously enhance and improve my teaching practice through self-reflection, feedback assimilation, and staying abreast of research-driven teaching trends in marketing and IB (via AFHEA and subject-specialized trainings).

Postgraduate level modules:

•  BST711 Global Marketing 
•   BST710 Understanding Organisations and the Business Environment 

Undergraduate level modules

• BS1532 Technology & Digital Age
•  BS2539 Marketing Research
•  BS3748 Business Design
• BS1528 Marketing

Biography

Honours and awards

·       Research Award/Fund Name: AMA Global Marketing SIG Travel Stipend for Ph.D. Students -  American Marketing Association (AMA)

Amount: $750.00 in total

Date: May 2024

·       Research Award/Fund Name: AMA-Sheth Doctoral Consortium Fellow 2024 -  American Marketing Association (AMA) & Sheth Foundation

Date: May 2024

·         Research Award/Fund Name: Jean Boddewyn Endowment (linked to AIB CIBER Doctoral Academy)

Amount: $3,000.00 in total

Duration: 2 years (2023-2025)

·        Research Award/Fund Name: Cardiff Business School (CARBS) Scholarship (linked to the Ph.D. degree at Cardiff Business School)

Amount: £37,560.00 in total per year (with adjusted annual raise accordingly)

Duration: 3 years (2021-2024)

·        Research Award/Fund Name: AMA Global Marketing SIG Travel Stipend for Ph.D. Students - American Marketing Association (AMA)

Amount: $750.00 in total

Date: May 2022

·        Award: “Dominique Wright Memorial Award” for enhancing the Programme in a most impactful way (linked to MA degree at Leeds University Business School) - Leeds University Business School

Date: December 2018

·        Research Award/Fund Name: Chevening Scholarship (linked to MA degree at Leeds University Business School) - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

Amount: £33,600.00 in total

Duration: 12 months (September 2017- September 2018)

Professional memberships

• American Marketing Association
• Academy of International Business
• European Academy of International Business
• Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• British Academy of Management 
• Chevening Alumni Association
• IABC Membership – International Association of Business Communicators 

Committees and reviewing

• Student Representative for Marketing and Strategy Section (2021-ongoing)
• Chair of Student-Staff PGR Panel (2022 - ongoing)
• PGR Representative at PGR Research Panel (2022-ongoing)
• Ad-hoc Reviewer: Journal of General Management; Academy of International Business (AIB) Annual Meeting ; AMA Global Marketing SIG Conference 2024; EIBA 2024 
• Volunteer - AMA Global Marketing SIG Conference (2022 Chania, Crete; 2024 Verona, Italy; 2024) & AIB Annual Meeting, Seoul)
• Business mentor (volunteer) – Connect2MK, Macedonia 2025 Initiative (2024 - ongoing)
• Conference Co-chair (Programme curation & development) (2024) – Cardiff Business School, UK