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Does Organizational Heritage Matter in the Development of Offshore Markets? The Case of Australian Life Insurers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2013

Monica Keneley
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Abstract

The globalization of financial markets over the past decade has focused the spotlight on the responsiveness of financial firms to international pressures. Insurance markets have traditionally relied on global networks not only to expand the insurers' sphere of influence but also to support domestic business. Until relatively recently, Australian insurance companies have not played a significant role in the development of international markets. However, in the last decade of the twentieth century Australian insurers ventured overseas on a scale without precedence. This article presents an historical perspective on the internationalization of the Australian life-insurance market with a view to understanding why these firms have been classified “late starters” in the internationalization stakes. In a broader capacity it provides insights into the impediments to overseas expansion and the forces encouraging or discouraging the development of cross border networks.

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Articles
Information
Business History Review , Volume 87 , Issue 2 , Summer 2013 , pp. 255 - 277
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2013 

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References

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