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.     

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.     

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.     

The rapid internationalization of high technology firms created through the commercialization of academic research

This article uses the international entrepreneurship framework developed by Jones, M. V., & Coviello, N. E. (2005). Internationalization: Conceptualizing an entrepreneurial process of behavior in time. Journal of International Business Studies, 36(3): 284–303, to explore the internationalization of high technology firms created through the commercialization of academic research. In particular, the effect of networks and entrepreneurial orientation is explored. Theoretical sampling resulted in four cases being studied. The data suggests that the “fundamental” networks of the academics involved in the firms assisted in the identification and exploitation of initial opportunities to internationalize. The research also suggests that only certain dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation impacted the internationalization of firms. Specifically, risk taking, technological innovativeness, and autonomy in certain parts of the organization assist in the entrepreneurial stages, while proactiveness and product–market innovativeness assist the success of firms internationally.     

Knowledge and internationalization of returnee entrepreneurial firms

This study aims to answer whether and how returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience and returnee entrepreneurial firms’ international market knowledge influence these firms’ internationalization. Anchored in a framework combining an entrepreneurial and knowledge-based view, we develop a model and four hypotheses on the relations between returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience, international market knowledge, international market commitment, and level of internationalization of the returnee entrepreneurial firm. Empirical evidence of the proposed model is derived from a recent sample of Chinese returnee SMEs in knowledge-intensive and high-technology industries. The main finding is that returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience nurtures international market knowledge of returnee entrepreneurial firms, which in turn has a positive effect on these firms’ international market commitment and level of internationalization. In terms of theory, the study extends our understanding of returnee entrepreneurial firms by uncovering the role of returnee entrepreneurs’ international experience and returnee firms’ international market knowledge during their initial and early international expansion.     

The effects of entrepreneurial proclivity and foreign market knowledge on early internationalization

Recent international entrepreneurship literature suggests an apparent tension in regard to the role of foreign market knowledge between the process models of internationalization and the early internationalization of born-global firms. From an entrepreneurial learning perspective, we argue that the tension can be resolved by understanding the source of the knowledge. For early internationalizing firms, foreign market knowledge tends to emanate from the innovative and proactive pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities across national borders, rather than from incremental accumulation of experience in foreign markets. Using survey data from young international entrepreneurial firms in mainland China, we test and support a mediating mechanism of foreign market knowledge as it relates to the pace and performance of early internationalization. This study contributes to the theoretical development in the emergent field of international entrepreneurship.     

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.     

SME internationalization: How does the opportunity-based international entrepreneurial culture matter?

We employ the opportunity-based international entrepreneurial culture (IEC) comprehensive notion that draws upon the opportunity-based view (OBV). The OBV supports the idea that entrepreneurs mold the organizational behavior and characteristics of their firms to pursue opportunities abroad. We set out to explore possible attitudinal differences as regards exploitation of opportunities within firms in each of three internationalization dimensions that are previously identified in the literature, notably time to internationalization, country market presence and international mode. We perform eighteen case studies on high-performing internationalized small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in knowledge intensive sectors. The evidence refines the OBV as it manifests how three IEC characteristics (namely risk attitude, market orientation and networking propensity) matter for firms in the three internationalization dimensions. The study further adds to the international entrepreneurship literature that has until now myopically focused on international new ventures as if they were the sole opportunity-driven group of internationalized SMEs.     

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.

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.     

从创业导向到跨国创业导向:一个文献综述

中国企业的国际化战略,已逐渐聚焦于"在全球范围创造新的价值",其实质正是一种跨国创业行为,传统的围绕动机、阶段、模式展开的国际化理论已不足以解释及指导中国企业的国际化实践。本文从"创业导向的定义和维度"、创业导向维度和组织绩效的测度方法,创业导向与组织绩效的关系、"跨国创业导向"等四方面对国内外相关研究进行了综述。并指出现有跨国创业导向研究存在"套用封闭环境下的创业导向研究框架"、"未区分不同规模、不同发展阶段国际化企业的跨国创业导向差异"、"对时滞因素和前因变量等缺乏关注"等不足之处。     

Linking Processes and Dynamic Capabilities of International SMEs: The Mediating Effect of International Entrepreneurial Orientation

Previous research on the internationalization of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) has highlighted the role of knowledge and learning about foreign markets. However, empirical results on the performance implications of foreign market scanning and planning have been mixed. Following the dynamic capability perspective, we argue that SMEs can capitalize on scanning and planning processes because of their international entrepreneurial orientation. We test our hypotheses with a sample of 604 established SMEs and find that entrepreneurial orientation completely mediates the relationship between scanning and planning and international performance. Moreover, the results implicate a bidirectional relationship between processes and international entrepreneurial orientation.     

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.     

International entrepreneurial culture—Toward a comprehensive opportunity-based operationalization of international entrepreneurship

Despite the abundance of international entrepreneurship studies, there is a need to develop valid measures of the international entrepreneurship construct. Based on prior conceptual studies, we contribute to the literature by advancing a scale of the international entrepreneurial culture (IEC) that considers opportunity-based behavior; and, aims to capture the overarching context of international entrepreneurship. We followed established scale development practices and conducted a research on UK and US medium-sized firms. Our proposed six-dimensional operationalization of IEC, which sufficiently matches the initial conceptualization, consists of international entrepreneurial orientation; international market orientation; international motivation; international learning orientation; international networking orientation with competitors; and, international networking orientation with non-competitors. The main implication from this study is that international entrepreneurship scholars can use in future research these six dimensions of the encompassing IEC context rather than a confined international entrepreneurship construct.     

The inception of internationalization of small and medium enterprises: The role of activeness and networks

This study analyzes how exporters begin their internationalization leveraging information collected through interviews with 109 Chinese textile manufacturers. It examines whether firms that found their first international clients through a “proactive” search are likely to export faster, more intensively, and to a larger number of markets. The findings illustrate that the proactiveness of the search for the first client in a foreign market is an important predictor of the intensity and geographic scope of the firm's internationalization path but not of its speed. They support the view of internationalization as an actively pursued entrepreneurial process, which may also be affected by serendipitous events. This study provides new evidence on the first international business discovery of Chinese exporters, contributing to the literature on international entrepreneurship, international new ventures and the network approach to internationalization.     

Where Angels Fear to Tread: Internationalization of Emerging Country SMEs

Based on institutional theory and risk perspectives, this study examines how the entrepreneurial orientation of firms as determined by national cultural factors is related to the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging and developing countries. We also suggest that institutional improvements can have a moderating effect on the relationship between culture and internationalization. We develop a unique measure of internationalization and test it on a sample of 7,212 SMEs from 36 developing countries using a multilevel linear hierarchical model that allows us to examine both firm- and country-level effects. We find that developed institutions support the internationalization of SMEs from more masculine and individualistic cultures.     

The determinants of the internationalization speed of Portuguese university spin-offs: An empirical investigation

The speed of internationalization of firms has attracted considerable research in the last few decades. However, with regard to a particular type of firm, university spin-offs (USOs), this line of research is still incipient. A majority of the studies on USOs highlights their main features but does not focus on internationalization. Based on the responses from 111 Portuguese USOs, of which 78 are exporters, econometric estimations indicate that: (1) the internationalization speed of USOs is critically dependent on support from technology transfer offices; (2) in line with the “learning advantages of newness” perspective, younger Portuguese USOs reveal higher levels of entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial capabilities, being in a better position to internationalize earlier than older USOs; (3) USOs that operate in microelectronics/robotics internationalize faster and earlier than USOs operating in ICT/software/digital media; and (4) in contrast with the literature on born globals/international new ventures, greater involvement in R&D activities slows down the early internationalization process of USOs.     

Navigating liminality in new venture internationalization

Prior research describes international expansion as a series of discrete steps and notes that taking them threatens new ventures' survival, especially due to unexpected setbacks. Seen through the lens of social science, the source of such threat becomes clearer. In this paper, we argue that internationalization in new ventures involves what social anthropologists call a liminal transition – a betwixt-and-between period lying between the intent to internationalize and the realization of a stable internationalized state. The ambiguous and transitory nature of this liminal transition has the potential to increase the odds of overreach (e.g. a high-cost market entry without sufficient resources). Avoiding the negative influence of liminality – and instead harnessing its positive effect – relies on three sources of support that we refer to as opportunity scaffolding: self-reflective learning, peer learning and consultative learning. We argue that entrepreneurs with personality profiles high in levels of core self-evaluation (CSE) are more likely to utilize the scaffolding like that available in business incubators effectively. This leads to the development of a more reflective mindset, making capability learning more likely, preventing decisions that lead to overreach and reducing the threat to INV survival. However we also strike a note of caution in that at excessive (hyper) levels of CSE, the internationalizing new venture could become the victim of hubris. Emboldened with unrealistically high self-confidence, hubristic entrepreneurs are more likely to rebuff use of scaffolding, leading to a more reactive mindset, increasing the probability of liminal overreach and threatening INV survival.

On the internationalization of Turkish hospital chains: A dynamic capabilities perspective

How do professional service firms build the capabilities required for effective international operations? Although the internationalization of manufacturing firms is a widely studied topic, the literature on the internationalization of service firms remains scant. The problem is even more acute when it comes to studies of professional services such as healthcare organizations and hospitals. Yet, we encounter remarkable examples of international market expansion by professional service firms. In this paper, we report on a study of large privately-owned hospital operators from the emerging economy of Turkey, based on in-depth interviews with senior executives. Taking advantage of Turkey’s strategic location in the region, these firms have shown extraordinary entrepreneurial initiative expanding their operations beyond the home market over the past two decades. Even more impressive is the creative strategies these firms have been deploying in terms of market entry modes. These range from medical tourism to setting up diagnostic clinics abroad, operating full-service hospitals in key markets, management contracts, and attracting equity capital from international investment firms. We draw from the theory of dynamic capabilities in order to explain the success these firms have had in cultivating international market opportunities. We contend that it takes a variety of organizational capabilities for traditionally domestic-market focused firms to expand into international markets. We provide an integrative discussion and offer implications for advancing knowledge and managerial practice.