| Resumo: | The Uppsala process model is one of the models that explain the internationalization of firms, asserting that it follows a progressive way. It is implied that firms begin to internationalize in neighboring markets and successively move to markets more psychically distant; the larger the psychic distance, the more difficult it is to build new relationships, which is a result of the liability of foreignness. This model was revisited to include the importance of relationships and being inside of relevant business networks. Since Fast fashion retailers satisfy consumers’ needs in a faster way, they have a competitive advantage in the market, that might decrease their liability of foreignness when expanding their activities abroad. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to assess the extent of the applicability of the Uppsala process model in the case of Fast fashion retailers that enter markets with a unique competitive advantage. In order to do that, the Portuguese fashion accessories retailer Parfois was used as a case study. The findings indicate that the competitive advantage of fast-fashion firms seems to decrease the liability of foreignness when entering foreign markets and that the relationships built over time in those markets through network connectedness allow for the decrease of the liability of outsidership to enter new markets.
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