MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES OF PUBLIC WORKS IN LATIN AMERICA

Abstract

Public Works are a relevant activity for economic
and social development. The largest companies
in this sector operate in several markets, because
domestic markets are, usually, too small in
order to achieve interesting return levels, which
match with the level of investment in assets.
Internationalization can use different strategies
and different foreign markets approaches.
Latin America is an interesting market to study,
concerning this theme. The analysis of largest
companies that are working there, considering
the well known models of internationalization,
allows us to conclude that geographic and cultural
proximity are relevant variables supporting
the internationalization process decision. Also
economic potential and strategic geographic
situation are important variables concerning the
same set of decisions. Networks creation is also
important and, sometimes, the relations between
stakeholders of the internationalization process
are the most important parameter supporting the
market approach, but those relations are often
diffi cult to discover.