Our 2004 Journal of International Business Studies article, "Innovation, Organizational Capabilities, and the Born Global Firm" provided a framework for the phenomenon of early and rapid ...internationalization among young, entrepreneurial firms. This work can be characterized as an integration of marketing, entrepreneurial, and capability-based thinking around exporting, positioned as the born global exporter. The article also reported findings from a national study of start-up firms that expanded abroad early in their evolution. In the present commentary, we reflect on the contributions of the 2004 article, review the scholarship on the topic over the past decade, and offer suggestions for future inquiry. While the incidence of early internationalization by firms was a novel concept two decades ago, today such firms are found in abundance in many countries. Yet many unresolved research questions remain, including the crucial topic of what happens to "born global" firms as they grow and mature over time. Similarly, the issue of why some firms internationalize early, others late in their evolution, and still others choose to remain local, is a fundamental question for international business scholarship.
In this paper, we summarize how internationalization research has evolved over time, where it stands today, and how it might evolve going forward. Specifically, we examine internationalization ...research from earlier times to the present day. We contrast the incremental internationalization characteristic of older multinational enterprises with the early, rapid internationalization of born global firms. The paper summarizes the evolution of research on early internationalization and born global firms, and provides evidence to suggest why this area now has attained legitimacy in scholarly research. We then examine important theoretical issues in born global research and suggest avenues for future research.
International entrepreneurship Reuber, A. Rebecca; Knight, Gary A.; Liesch, Peter W. ...
Journal of international business studies,
05/2018, Volume:
49, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
In this editorial for the Special Issue on International Entrepreneurship, we interrelate key concepts about the pursuit of opportunities from the entrepreneurship and international business ...literatures. In doing so, we consider the assessment of opportunities as an individual-level cognitive activity, the construction of opportunity as a firm-level innovative activity and the shaping of opportunity as an institutional-level structuring activity. We then extend the discussion to explore the notion of a distributed, global ecosystem of opportunities and opportunity seekers, which we believe may provide a platform for valuable future research.
The trend of increasing internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is noteworthy, because such firms typically have far fewer financial and tangible resources than large ...multinational enterprises. As a result, international business is often more challenging for smaller firms. In this study we investigate the widespread internationalization of SMEs, and specific factors that support their superior performance abroad. We uncover a collection of intangible capabilities that are especially salient to these firms and their growing international involvement. We identify international business competence (IBC) as an intangible, overarching firm resource that engenders superior international performance in the international SME. Through case studies and a comprehensive literature review, we identify four dimensions of IBC. We devise and assess a model that links IBC to SME international performance. Results suggest that international orientation, international marketing skills, international innovativeness, and international market orientation are all significant dimensions of IBC, and that IBC is instrumental in SME international performance. We discuss resultant findings and offer managerial implications.
Organizational learning has been studied as a key factor in firm performance and internationalization. Moving beyond the past emphasis on market learning, we develop a more complete explanation of ...learning, its relationship to innovation, and their joint effect on early internationalization. We theorize that, driven by the founders’ international vision, early internationalizing firms employ a dual subsystem of dynamic capabilities: a market subsystem consisting of market-focused learning capability and marketing capability, and a socio-technical subsystem comprised of network learning capability and internally focused learning capability. We argue that innovation mediates the proposed relationship between the dynamic capability structure and early internationalization. We conduct case studies to develop the conceptual framework and test it in a field survey of early internationalizing firms from Australia and the United States. Our findings indicate a complex interplay of capabilities driving innovation and early internationalization. We provide theoretical and practical implications and offer insights for future research.
This article explores learning among rapidly internationalizing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and how this supports the post-internationalization growth and survival of these firms. We ...utilize a qualitative multiple case study approach of ten information and communication technology (ICT) SMEs from a key emerging market—India. Findings suggest that during the post-entry stage, rapidly internationalizing SMEs use a wide range of internal and external sources of knowledge. External sources of knowledge include peer networks, associations in the same industry, international clients/partners, and international connections developed through trade fairs and trade missions. Internal sources of knowledge such as self-learning, especially from trial-and-error and experiential efforts, were found to enhance product, market and technological knowledge; and consequently aided geographic and product diversification. The findings also indicate that firms use a mix of integrated, vicarious, congenital and experiential learning approaches in their post-entry growth and survival phases. Experiential and congenital learning were found to be facilitated by firms' internal network sources, whereas external network sources provide an ideal platform for vicarious learning. The study provides new insights into networking and learning by providing evidence that exposure to and connection with diverse types of networks can result in various forms of valuable learning for rapidly internationalizing SMEs, which enhances their post-entry growth.
We investigate born-global firms as early adopters of internationalization - that is, companies that expand into foreign markets and exhibit international business prowess and superior performance, ...from or near their founding. Our explication highlights the critical role of innovative culture, as well as knowledge and capabilities, in this unique breed of international, entrepreneurial firm. Case studies are analyzed to better understand the early internationalization phenomenon and reveal key orientations and strategies that engender international success among these innovative firms. Case findings are then validated in a survey-based study. Despite the scarce resources typical of young firms, our findings reveal that born-global firms leverage a distinctive mix of orientations and strategies that allow them to succeed in diverse international markets. Findings have important implications for the internationalization of contemporary firms.
The article conducts a meta–analysis on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance in international entrepreneurship. Empirical evidence from 15,648 internationalizing ...entrepreneurial firms nested in 43 independent samples reveals a positive relationship between degree and scope of internationalization and performance. Knowledge intensity positively moderates the relationship between speed of internationalization and performance and negatively moderates the scope of internationalization and performance association. In contrast, we neither find a relationship between speed of internationalization and performance nor for knowledge intensity's moderation on the degree of internationalization–performance association. Based on the findings, the article systematically points at future research opportunities.
For courses in Business. International Business: A Millennial ApproachInternational Business: The New Realities caters to a millennial student audience, the most diverse and educated generation to ...date. The book speaks to students of the technological age, facing a diverse and evolving economic environment fueled by the Internet and multimedia sources. By addressing issues such as the competitive job market and challenges faced by advanced economies, the text preps students for international business in our modern world. The Fourth Edition plays on millennials characteristics to engage them in the material. This includes their reliance on technology, their drive towards achievement and helping their communities, and their desire to obtain skills they can apply towards meaningful jobs. The authors understand what motivates millennial students and builds on their goals to help students obtain successful careers in international business. MyManagementLab not included. Students, if MyManagementLab is a recommended/mandatory component of the course, please ask your instructor for the correct ISBN and course ID. MyManagementLab should only be purchased when required by an instructor. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information.MyManagementLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment product designed to personalize learning and improve results. With a wide range of interactive, engaging, and assignable activities, students are encouraged to actively learn and retain tough course concepts.
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