Internacionalização e Cooperação entre Empresas Algarvias, Alentejanas e Onubenses

Resumen

The regions of the Algarve and Alentejo, together with the Province of Huelva, are neighbouring and also peripheral territories within the European Union. Despite their proximity, trade relations between companies in each side of the border there were always very scarce, and there have been some development only from the joint entry to the European Economic Community in 1986. Thereafter trade relations are vastly improved. The study now held, in continuation of those already carried by the authors, aims to show that the internationalization of companies accompanied by effective cooperation can be an important opportunity for a prospective development of their activities. It is known that both Portugal and Spain are living hard times caused by a severe crisis of sovereign and private debt aggravated by the existence of a high public deficit and a high unemployment rate. Cooperation between companies of the Algarve/Alentejo and the Province of Huelva, that have been tested with very promising results, can help alleviate the troubles that companies are facing today. This study seeks to confirm these results and, at the same time, present proposals and recommendations for the internationalization of companies and cross-border cooperation. The evidences to support this work were obtained from studies conducted in the Portuguese regions of the Algarve (2005 and 2010) and Alentejo (2010) from companies that have business dealings in the Province of Huelva (Spain). We address aspects related to the sources of information used by companies to conduct their business, informative obstacles and asymmetries in political and institutional framework that compromise the full development of cross-border business activity in this space. It is also important to know the behaviour, attitudes, perspectives and motivations that enable economic agents to promote cross-border activities.