The key elements of the Uppsala school paradigm of the internationalization process of the firm are the historical context to which it applies and the micro-foundations that shape firm internationalization. Technological, institutional, and political developments of recent decades have fundamentally changed both the context of international business activities and the managerial practices that guide firm behavior. Consequent revisions of the model shifted its focus from ‘internationalization’ to ‘evolution’ in firms more generally, thereby undermining its relevance and paradigmatic status. This calls for a new conceptual basis and a ‘paradigm shift’ in research on the internationalization process of the firm. To promote this endeavor, this Counterpoint advocates the explicit adoption of historical perspectives, such as that of the original Uppsala studies, and methodologies, especially ‘archeological’ discourse analysis, as originally developed by Michel Foucault. Its aim is to understand the process of knowledge creation in specific societal contexts. Combined with social constructivist approaches to the sociology of knowledge, it could fruitfully be applied to the analysis of the formation and content of beliefs and practices regarding the efficacy of different internationalization strategies, as they have evolved in business firms and other relevant epistemic communities, such as those of professional experts or industries.

企业国际化过程的乌普萨拉学派范式的关键要素是其适用的历史背景和塑造企业国际化的微观基础。近几十年来的技术、制度和政治发展从根本上改变了国际商业活动的背景和指导公司行为的管理实践。模型的后续修订将其关注点从更普遍的“国际化”转向“进化”，从而削弱了其相关性和范式地位。这就要求在对公司国际化过程的研究中建立新的概念基础和“范式转变”。为了促进这一努力，本对立主张明确采用历史观点，例如乌普萨拉的原始研究和方法论，尤其是最初由米歇尔·福柯开发的“考古”话语分析。其目的是了解特定社会背景下知识创造的过程。与知识社会学的社会建构主义方法相结合，它可以卓有成效地应用于分析关于不同国际化战略有效性的信念和实践的形成和内容，因为它们在商业公司和其他相关认知社区中发展，例如作为专业专家或行业的人。