Abstract:

The article examines the global postal market. It focuses on the internationalization process that has been progressing on the global postal market for three decades. The article aims to provide comprehensive and critical analysis of the internationalization theory with reference to the global postal market. It attempts to answer a research question pertaining to incentives that stimulate global postal operators.

The first part of the paper provides a multifaceted definition of internationalization. Then, it discusses the specific nature of postal markets while putting emphasis on megatrends on the market. The article points to the significance of market liberalization that leads to rapid development of competition and emphasizes the role of modern technologies which changed the position of postal operators. The main part of the article presents the activity of selected, global postal operators which led to their internationalization. It also includes a detailed analysis of their activity and mergers and acquisitions on selected markets in the past two decades. The analysis enables to determine a number of benefits brought by internationalization. Additionally, the article defines requirements that need to be met to internationalize global markets.