International Service Delivery and Internet-Based Technologies

In this paper an analysis is proposed of how firms can use internetbased technologies to deliver their services online to foreign markets or to support an offline international service delivery. The focus is consequently on the front office, that part of the production and delivery system where service becomes available to the recipient and is actually consumed. We propose a model which shows how a service firm may become international, according to the characteristics of the services it offers and the supply system it sets up; to this purpose, a classification is presented which helps to identify different internationalisation modes for the delivery system. Then, the impact of the application of internet-based technologies to service delivery is evaluated, by showing the implications for the internationalisation processes and, consequently, for our model. Examples are given of different ways to internationalise service delivery via internet-based technologies.