Entrepreneurial orientation and international scope: The differential roles of innovativeness,proactiveness, and risk-taking

This research integrates the international business and entrepreneurship literatures by examining the independent influences of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on the ability of a firm to broaden its scope across international markets. For each dimension of entrepreneurial orientation, a cost–benefit framework is applied to highlight the trade-offs associated with different levels in the internationalization context. Based on a unique dataset of 500 SMEs spanning 10 industries, the results reflect the consequences of being “stuck in the middle” with respect to their strategic posture on innovativeness and proactiveness, but reveal a nuanced role for risk-taking behavior. The non-uniform and non-linear relationships from the findings contribute to a better understanding of when the individual dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation help or hinder entrepreneurial firms in the internationalization process.     

Internationalization of Chinese Entrepreneurial Firms

This article uses the resource‐based and internationalization theories to explain the export behavior of Chinese entrepreneurial firms. Based on multiyear data on Chinese firms from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), we show that contextualized resource‐based theory can adequately explain some of the variation in export behavior among young Chinese firms. Exports by small Chinese firms are driven by the social and intellectual capital of the entrepreneur and their entrepreneurial proclivity, and the innovativeness/uniqueness of the product/offering. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Firms

This paper contributes to the existing research by integrating the notions of organizational learning and entrepreneurial orientation into the body of international entrepreneurship. Our primary framework combines learning theory and the new venture theory of internationalization to study the extent to which small and medium-sized companies engage in international activities. We found that the firms’ international learning effort and entrepreneurial orientation are positively associated with internationalization intent whereas domestic learning effort is negatively related with internationalization intent. Overall, our results suggest (1) that intensive knowledge renewal and exploitation regarding foreign markets and the internationalization process itself may increase internationalization by affecting the perceptions of opportunities offered by further international expansion, and (2) that firms with an entrepreneurial mindset may be more likely to develop a long-term, substantial presence in the international arena, compared to firms that are more reactive or conservative.     

The Effect of a Market Orientation, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Technological Capability on Innovativeness: A Study of Young Biotechnology Ventures in the United States and in Scandinavia

Previous research suggests that in order to excel in innovativeness, a firm should simultaneously be market oriented, proactive, and willing to take risks, as well as have access to superior technological assets and capabilities. However, the contribution of these factors on innovative outcomes has seldom been assessed in one study. This study investigates influences of market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and technological capabilities on technology ventures' innovativeness. Data for this study were collected through personal interviews in biotechnology startups in the United States, Finland, and Sweden. As expected, results indicate a significant link between technological capability and product innovativeness. However, neither market orientation nor entrepreneurial orientation is related to product innovativeness in this empirical context where firms typically aim at launching radical, disruptive innovations. The drivers of capital investments, however, are different from the antecedents of product innovativeness. Differences between the Nordic and U.S.-based biotechnology ventures are also identified.     

The role of social networks and institutions in the internationalization of Russian entrepreneurial firms: Do they matter?

Drawing upon network theory and institutional theory, this paper examines the influence of networks on the internationalization of Russian entrepreneurial firms. Our case analysis suggests that within the context of the Russian environment, networks play a much less important role in the internationalization process than it is usually assumed in the literature. For the Russian entrepreneurial firms examined in our study, the most important factor in their internationalization was their engagement in honest business practices that established trust and commitment in their relationships with international business partners. This study underscores the importance of the institutional context of an entrepreneurial firm’s country.     

The overestimated role of strategic orientations for international performance in smaller firms

This article examines how market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) relate to international performance in small firms. Empirically, the article draws on survey data from 188 Swedish SMEs. Results show that strategic orientations have a very limited influence on international performance in these firms. Proactiveness and, to some extent, a market orientation proved positively associated with international performance, while innovativeness and risk taking show no such relationship. Our findings highlight the problems associated with using “traditional” MO and EO constructs in an SME setting and point to the need of developing more appropriate constructs tailored to this context. We also note that the MO construct was developed from a “causal view” of marketing, while successful small international firms rely more on effectuation logic. The article also contributes to the debate between the two dominant perspectives that address firms’ early internationalization processes: the process theory of internationalization and the international new venture perspective, where our results are in favor of the latter.

Networks,Entrepreneurial Orientation,and Internationalization Scope: Evidence from Chilean Small and Medium Enterprises

During the last 20 years, the literature on internationalized small firms discussed at length the speed of internationalization, illustrating the importance of born globals. The geographic scope of small firm internationalization and its implications for international business and entrepreneurship theories has however been overlooked, especially with regard to firms based in Latin America. This study expands the research agenda on the effects of networks and entrepreneurship orientation for the internationalization strategy of small firms by examining their effects on internationalization scope. It uses survey data from small firms based in Chile. The findings suggest that the greater the number of networks utilized, the more entrepreneurs are likely to target markets based in diverse regions of the world. The study has managerial and policy implications, suggesting that nurturing diverse international networks can help entrepreneurs reach a broader number of markets.     

Internationalization and entrepreneurial orientation of family SMEs: The influence of the family character

Internationalization is an important entrepreneurial strategy for promoting the long-term growth and survivability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Family involvement in top management teams (TMTs) can explain the heterogeneous behaviors of these firms’ international entrepreneurship process. This paper analyzes the moderating effects of the family’s influence on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization with two TMT diversities found only in family firms: the family TMT ratio and generational involvement. An analysis of 191 Spanish family SMEs indicated that entrepreneurial orientation plays a significant role in explaining the degree of internationalization in family firms and that a diversely formed TMT shapes this relationship. A high concentration of family members in managerial positions hinders the international entrepreneurship process. This fact highlights the importance of hiring non-family managers to promote internationalization. The results also reveal that involving multiple generations in decision-making hampers entrepreneurial internationalization, generating control and coordination problems.     

Are born globals really born globals? The case of academic spin-offs with long development periods

Most research on the born global phenomenon investigates firms from the point of their legal founding. Studies in the field of entrepreneurship show nonetheless that international firms undergo long pre-founding periods, which are likely to affect growth and internationalization in newly founded firms. In this study, we investigate three academic spin-offs with advanced technologies that are attractive in a global market. These firms had experienced extended time in developing their technologies, two of them in pre-founding periods. We examine here the networks of academic spin-offs in three stages: idea conception, technology development, and growth and internationalization. The research builds on diverse theories: born global theory, research on academic spin-offs, entrepreneurial firms, and network theory. We use a multiple case study to investigate the three spin-offs and a process approach in interviewing that includes the biographic histories of the focal firms. In analysis, we identify networks that provide financial resources, knowledge, innovation and technology resources, marketing, and reputational resources. Networks acquired at different stages and network changes greatly affected growth and internationalization in the focal firms. We also find that networks and resources acquired in pre-founding periods had great implications for growth and internationalization in the young firms. Our research therefore highlights the problem of age in the born global literature and we argue for the need to include pre-founding periods to better understand the born global phenomenon.     

In good company: The role of personal and inter-firm networks for new-venture internationalization in a transition economy

Although personal and inter-firm networks are critical for the survival and growth of entrepreneurial ventures in transition economies, their role in new-venture internationalization has been understudied. Exploring the internationalization of entrepreneurial ventures (n = 623) in Bulgaria, we find that domestic personal networks have a positive effect on internationalization. Firm age negatively moderates the effect of inter-firm networks: the earlier the new venture engages in inter-firm collaboration, the higher the degree of its internationalization. Internationalization is positively associated with new venture size and varies by industry. Implications for managerial practice and public policy are discussed.     

Network Imitation to Deal with Sociocultural Dilemmas in Acquisitions of Young,Innovative Firms

This article expands current acquisition literature to include sociocultural challenges on inter‐organizational levels following acquisitions of young, innovative firms. Socioculture here denotes network parties' shared values, belief systems, and practices. Three acquisitions illustrate their consequences. The young, innovative firms and their acquirers are part of different networks, have dissimilar motives for pursuing business, and work within different time frames. To potentially improve knowledge transfer and integration, the acquirer can learn from the innovative firm's network interactions; choose targets among its own network parties; organize its governance into a separate business unit; practice reverse value integration from the acquired party; and carefully promote practices that foster innovativeness. The article contributes to research on acquisitions of young, innovative firms through pointing to how values and practices are interlinked in networks, and how the imitation of the acquired party's network interaction may help to sustain its innovativeness and transfer knowledge between the acquirer and acquired party. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Entrepreneurial orientation,social capital,and the internationalization of SMES: Evidence from China

This article combines arguments from entrepreneurship literature and social capital theory to examine the antecedents to the internationalization of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from China. Our quantitative study of 117 Chinese SMEs demonstrates the overall importance of entrepreneurial orientation and social capital of entrepreneurs in facilitating their internationalization efforts, and also reveals that different dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and different types of social capital exert different levels of independent influence on Chinese SMEs' internationalization. Complementary data from multiple case studies explains the variation between our quantitative findings and the findings of previous research. By highlighting the value of the entrepreneurial attributes of Chinese SMEs and the social capital embedded in their networks in the pursuit of their internationalization, the article adds to the scant literature on the internationalization behavior of the rapidly emerging Chinese SMEs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Entrepreneurial marketing strategies during the growth of international new ventures originating in small and open economies

This research provides new knowledge on the development of marketing strategies in international new ventures (INVs) by applying the concept of entrepreneurial marketing to these early internationalizing firms. Using a qualitative approach, the authors identify the key dimensions of this concept in INVs, namely innovativeness and adaptation, and elaborate on both the defining elements and the development of these dimensions. They suggest that the innovativeness and adaptation of marketing strategies decrease during the global growth of INVs. Other contextual issues also underlie the development of international entrepreneurial marketing strategies; in particular, they appear to reflect the turbulence and global diversity of the environment and the market orientation of the INV. The marketing performance of INVs is determined by the fit between international entrepreneurial marketing strategies and the internal and external contingencies of the firm. Propositions for future research and managerial implications are provided.     

Antecedents of international and domestic learning effort

We examine the antecedents of international and domestic learning effort in independent firms. We combine learning theory and the “attention-based” view to examine how firms' degree of internationalization, the age at international entry, and entrepreneurial orientation are associated with the extent to which they engage in foreign and domestic learning activities. In particular, our study shows that early entry in foreign markets and an entrepreneurial orientation are positively related to a culture that promotes learning effort in international and domestic markets. On the other hand, whereas a firm's degree of internationalization does not have a significant association with international learning effort, the degree of internationalization is negatively related to domestic learning effort. We discuss the implications of our study for theory, practice, and future research.     

Market or society? Dual orientations and the impact on innovativeness in media organizations

Shortening life cycles of products and new technologies make innovation a vital part of the long-term growth and survival of firms. Interestingly, media firms see themselves in a particular difficult position in innovation because traditional values such as public information access, good taste, information diversity, and social responsibility can be in conflict with the market success of certain new media products and services. This is also a key reason why there are public media firms in certain information markets in the first place. In this study, two different orientations in media organizations are studied simultaneously, namely “market orientation” and “social responsibility orientation” in relation to innovativeness. Based on a sample of 54 Dutch media organizations, we find that firms scoring high on both dimensions are not necessarily more or less innovative (indicating that innovations emerge in the whole orientation space). What is important for innovativeness is the degree to which professionals identify with the orientations of the firm. The broader implications of a more prominent role of social responsibility in NPD are discussed.     

EMNEs venturing into advanced economies: Findings from comparative cases of two Indian MNEs

Indian firms are challenged by the latecomer disadvantages faced by emerging‐market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) in general. These challenges notwithstanding, Indian firms are doing cross‐border acquisitions (CBAs) in developed regions. Analyzing firm‐level secondary data of two Indian MNEs—namely, Motherson Sumi Systems Limited and Rain Industries Limited—that show significant developed region–based revenues and assets, we link extant and emerging theoretical perspectives on EMNEs’ internationalization with the observed firm motives and behaviors of our case firms. We propose a framework of multiple contextual settings to understand the context‐driven internationalization of the case firms. Finally, our article offers a set of propositions emphasizing firm‐level entrepreneurial orientation and international orientation, when EMNEs internationalize via CBAs in developed regions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and international commitment

This paper contributes to the development of the field of international corporate entrepreneurship (ICE) by examining the influences that the time lapse between foundation and first international market entry may have on the development of an entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Moreover, the paper highlights the existence of a positive relationship between the development of an entrepreneurial orientation and both internationalization decision and dimensions (degree, scope) in established companies. Based on a sample of 155 Spanish firms, our findings suggest that an entrepreneurial orientation positively influences a firm’s propensity to internationalize activities. The results obtained confirm the idea that fast entry into foreign markets is positively related to the development of an entrepreneurial orientation in established firms, and that firms with a marked entrepreneurial orientation have higher relative international sales and operate in a greater number of foreign countries.     

Informal institutions and international entrepreneurship

This study examines the influence of three informal institutions, performance orientation, self-expression and social desirability, on the extent of internationalization by early stage entrepreneurial firms. We employed multi-level modeling techniques using 20,656 individual-level responses obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey for 39 countries from 2001 to 2008, and supplementing with country-level data obtained from the World Values Survey (WVS) and the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study. The results demonstrate that high performance orientation, high self-expression, and low social desirability of entrepreneurship in societies increase the extent of internationalization by early-stage entrepreneurial firms. The study promotes new theory and empirical findings on the relationship between informal institutions and entrepreneurial agency.     

Entrepreneurial proclivity: its environmental conditions and growth consequences

To contribute to the entrepreneurial marketing (EM) literature, this study investigates how business unit growth relates to environmental risks and rewards (i.e., environmental dynamism and market growth rate) and three facets of entrepreneurial proclivity (i.e., innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness). The authors find that perceived environmental dynamism has a direct and positive influence on strategic business units' innovativeness and proactiveness. Moreover, this study explores the interplay between the risk and reward facets of the market environment and reveals that firms are most likely to adopt EM strategies in a high-growth, highly dynamic business environment. The results also show that whereas the industry growth rate promotes a firm's market expansion, but not market sustention, the firm's innovativeness and proactiveness positively influence both market expansion and sustention.     

Do they matter? The role of non-academics in the internationalization of academic spin-offs

Internationalization and academic entrepreneurship have been receiving a lot of attention not only in academic research but also in policy practice. While academic spin-offs suffer from limited resources and lack of entrepreneurial skills, they often penetrate international market through their innovative products and technology since the very early years of their establishment. In the literature, little attention has been paid to explicitly examine the internationalization process of academic spin-offs as well as the role of non-academics. In order to investigate the impact of non-academics on the performance of spin-offs, we carried out an empirical analysis of 126 Spanish spin-offs which were divided into two market categories, international and domestic market. With regard to the percentage of non-academics in founding team, we found that their impact was more relevant to the performance goals than to innovativeness. On the other hand, the size of non-academic networks contributed significantly not only to the performance goals but also to innovation. However, we did not find a significant relationship between the strength of non-academic networks and the performance goals and innovativeness of the international spin-offs. Overall, we concluded that the role of non-academics was crucial for supporting the internationalization of the spin-offs.