Small Italian wine producers’ internationalization: The role of network relationships in the emergence of late starters

This paper aims to examine how network relationships influenced the internationalization of small Italian wine producers characterized as late starters. It is based on four cases. It shows that foreign tourists helped these firms to expand internationally: they identified business opportunities, suggested firms to contact importers, contacted importers themselves to get access to the same wine in their home country or provided foreign market knowledge. Thus, small wine producers should pay more attention to attracting tourists and creating network relationship with them. Several other network relationships ? for instance, with friends and relatives, Italian expatriates and other business partners ? also advanced the case firms’ internationalization. Moreover, they were affected by lack of time and resources, language barriers and other factors. Thus, all these aspects also need managers’ attention. Furthermore, they should take a more strategic approach towards internationalization and understand that not all internationalization attempts succeed or result in continuous orders.     

Internationalization of Clustered Companies and the Influence of Resources: A Case Study on Wine Clusters in Brazil and France

Although the importance of local/regional factors in firms' international competitiveness has been increasingly recognized, few studies have investigated the relationship between clusters and the internationalization process of clustered-firms. This theme assumes special relevance for industries that are predominantly organized in territorial agglomerations, or clusters, as is the case of the wine industry. The objective of this paper is to identify the resources generated by the cluster and analyze their influence in the internationalization process of clustered companies. A case study was carried out on two wine clusters: Provence, in Southern France, and Serra Gaúcha, in Southern Brazil. Resource-based theory provides the underlying analytical framework. Both theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Application of human resource management's universal model: An examination of people versus institutions as barriers of internationalization for SMEs in a small developing country

Although the importance of people and institutions has been highlighted in multinational enterprise studies, the association between people, institutions, and the internationalization of small to medium‐sized enterprise (SMEs) is an underexplored issue from the context of a small developing country. We examine theories subsumed under the Universal Model of human resource management (HRM) onto SMEs to study the hypothesized people and institutionally orientated barriers posed to SMEs’ internationalization. Using quantitative analysis, the impacts of the barriers on internationalization are highlighted with particular attention to employer attractiveness. Following extant literature review, this study has used primary data collected through questionnaires from 212 Bangladeshi SMEs. We developed and validated the partial least square‐based structural equation model (PLS‐SEM) to assess the impacts and successfully framed people versus institutional barriers as a second‐order hierarchical reflective model, which has not been done previously. Given their marginal significance over institutions, people‐oriented cultural barriers should be included as an extension of the Universal Model to study SME internationalization.     

The impacts of network relationships on SMEs' internationalization process

In today's globalization era, more and more firms are striving to have an international presence, even though they face many challenges. Based on a multisite case study method, this article examines how indigenous Malaysian small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) use their network relationships to facilitate their internationalization process. The evidence from the case of three software firms and one control firm in this study support the firms' internationalization process in the ways that network relationships trigger and motivate them to internationalize, influence their marketselection decision and mode‐of‐entry decision, help them gain initial credibility, allow access to additional relationships and established channels, help in lowering cost and reducing risk, and influence their internationalization pace and pattern. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Not all family firms are equal: The moderating effect of family involvement on the political risk exposure of the foreign direct investment portfolio. Preliminary evidence from Spanish multinational enterprises

We investigate the effect of political risk (PR) exposure and family control on the internationalization strategy of multinational enterprises (MNEs) using social capital theory. Our results from a negative binomial cross‐sectional analysis in 2007 of Spanish MNEs show family ownership or the limited presence of family members on the board has no effect on internationalization. However, when the conceptualization of family firms (FFs) includes majority ownership and board presence, we find a direct negative effect on their internationalization scope but a positive moderating effect on the relationship between the exposure to PR and internationalization scope. FFs have some specific advantages suitable to be employed in their corporate political activity allowing them to develop long‐lasting relationships with relevant political actors. By disentangling the effects of family control on internationalization and PR, this article explains how FFs can be simultaneously risk‐willing and risk‐averse.     

Wine tourism in the Mediterranean: A tool for restructuring and development

Mediterranean countries have long been associated with wine production. However, only recently, as regions come to face the implications of global rural restructuring, have wine and tourism been utilized for regional development and re‐imaging strategies. This article provides a review of the concept of wine tourism and its development. Using a number of case studies, the article then examines how the relationship between wine and tourism is being encouraged through European Union development programs and national and provincial government policies, and evaluates their relative success. The article concludes that wine and tourism are becoming increasingly integrated in tourist promotion and product‐development activities in the Mediterranean. However, their contribution to solving problems of rural restructur‐ing may be more problematic, and greater attention needs to be given to establishing stronger links between industry stakeholders and in adding greater value to the wine and food product in rural areas. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Developing Absorptive Capacity through e‐Business: The Case of International SMEs

This research uses the absorptive capacity concept as a theoretical lens to study the effect of e‐business upon the internationalization performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), addressing the following research issue: To what extent are manufacturing SMEs successful in developing their potential and realized absorptive capacity in response to the environmental uncertainty brought about by their internationalization? Results of a survey study of 588 manufacturing SMEs indicate that e‐business capabilities have a significant impact on internationalization performance to the extent that these capabilities are developed as a response to increased environmental uncertainty. Moreover, these capabilities are realized through the development of networking, advanced manufacturing, and marketing capabilities that also respond to environmental uncertainty.     

Super‐Connectors: A New Model of Internationalization from the MENA Region

The main purpose of this case‐based research is to investigate and analyze three fast‐growing airlines (Emirates/Dubai, Qatar Airways/Qatar, and Etihad Airways/Abu Dhabi) and their internationalization from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The three carriers that are commonly known as “super‐connectors” in the airline industry continue to excel in their business models and internationalization. Based on secondary data, surveys, and company‐specific information, the article uses a longitudinal case‐based research approach to discuss the three airlines. Findings of the work reveal that the three super‐connectors have aggressively expanded in the MENA region and beyond by seeking multiple alliances, joint ventures, long‐term collaborative agreements (code sharing), and foreign direct investment (FDI). These activities represent innovative business models and operational efficiencies in the global airline industry. We believe that non‐MENA airlines may not have the same dynamism, strategic clout, corporate‐related efficiencies, and financial prowess that we witness among the three super‐connectors. In international business (IB) and multinational corporation (MNC)‐related areas, researchers, industry analysts, and policymakers need to pay attention to the MENA region's super‐connectors and their emerging internationalization models. The article also provides useful trends and implications that can be benchmarked by practitioners, researchers, and airlines regarding the issues of internationalization, growth, and new business models. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The internationalization journey of a high‐tech cluster

We examine the internationalization processes of a sample of photonics companies, using in‐depth interviews conducted with twenty‐two CEOs. The texts of these interviews were appraised by using content analysis, combined with a grounded theory approach. In this way, the internationalization theory was critiqued and some insights developed into the international strategy process. Some salient findings emerged, such as that cluster externalities had a positive impact on the internationalization of firms within the cluster, and the degree of strategic vulnerability that cluster firms faced from developing‐country competitors. These findings are discussed in relation to their research and managerial implications. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Firms' use of organizational,personal, and intermediary networks to gain access to resources for internationalization

This study explores which networks are beneficial for gaining resources for firms' internationalization. Little is known about firms' use of organizational, personal, and intermediary networks to gain access to resources for internationalization. Firms are seeking resources through their organization's relationships (organizational networks) and individuals' personal contacts (personal networks). Governmental and industry actors are implementing networks to promote international growth and act as an intermediary between business actors (intermediary networks). We conduct in‐depth interviews with firms and representatives for intermediary networks complemented with a survey. The findings reveal which resources are accessed through the different networks. We find organizational networks provide considerable access to most resources (except financial resources) that are beneficial for internationalization, whereas intermediary networks provide access to reputational, human, and market resources. Personal networks primarily provide access to human resources. This study contributes to theory by giving a more fine‐grained understanding of how different types of networks give access to different resources valuable for internationalization.     

Emerging Market Multinationals: Coopetition for Global Growth

Since the dramatic geopolitical shift toward liberalization in the last century, emerging‐market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) have become major players in global markets and continue to account for an increasing share of global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Given this trend, the questions of how and why EMNEs pursue FDI deserve greater attention. This article builds on recent work that uses resource dependence theory (RDT) to explain EMNE internationalization strategies. We propose that EMNEs, while often resource deficient relative to their developed‐market competitors and, therefore, more dependent on others in the external environment, are uniquely positioned to overcome these deficiencies over time through simultaneous cooperation and competition—coopetition—with their global rivals and host‐ and home‐country governments. These propositions contribute to the EMNE internationalization literature by more fully incorporating RDT into current theories of internationalization, highlighting the importance of managing dependencies over time to maximize global growth. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Exploration of Chinese SMEs' export development: The role of managerial determinants based on an adapted innovation‐related internationalization model

Over the past two decades, small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in China have achieved rapid international development. Due to China's unique cultural and institutional environments, our understanding of the influence of managerial determinants on internationalization is still limited. This exploratory study takes the lens of the innovation model of internationalization to revisit the dynamic development of Chinese SMEs' export operations. Based on the four in‐depth case studies, the findings suggest that exports by Chinese SMEs are influenced by managerial perceptions such as negative country‐of‐origin effect and strict overseas quality standards. In addition, they show that both external and internal drivers act as “change agents” in their internationalization involvement. These findings will assist various stakeholders—government and export promotion agencies—to develop and deliver needs‐based supports and encourage nonexporters to participate in international operations.     

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.     

How psychic distance and opportunity perceptions affect entrepreneurial firm internationalization

Psychic distance, now established as an individual perceptual construct, is so far a partial explanation of internationalization processes of entrepreneurial firms. Opportunity in foreign markets, although considered important, has hitherto been an assumption rather than explored as an explanatory factor in internationalization theories. Through qualitative data from technology entrepreneurs from New Zealand this study considers opportunity, like psychic distance, as an individual perceptual construct and posits that a combination of opportunity and psychic distance perceptions better explains entrepreneurial internationalization action/intention decisions. The explicit combination proposed is “opportunity‐distance quotient” and signifies a shift from psychic distance obstacles based explanations to an opportunity‐psychic distance interaction based exploration of entrepreneurial internationalization. Limitations of the study and further research are discussed. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The internationalization of Nigerian firms: Motivations and location patterns

Despite the increased number of studies of the internationalization of emerging‐market multinationals (EMNCs), Latin American and Asian firms have dominated the focus of such studies, while the study of the internationalization process of sub‐Saharan African firms in the international business literature is quite limited. Therefore, this article examines the motivations and location patterns of the internationalization process of four Nigerian firms through a multiple case study approach. The findings show that the internationalization of the Nigerian firms is a recent phenomenon, but the foreign investment pattern reflects a pan‐African investment strategy. However, the findings also reveal that the firm‐specific advantages that had been accumulated in the domestic market, coupled with home‐country factors and regional‐/host‐market factors, were key determinants of the motivations and location patterns in the internationalization process of Nigerian firms.     

Intangible Resources and Plural Form as Drivers of Franchise Internationalization: Examination within a Two‐Country Perspective

This study focuses on drivers of franchise network internationalization, namely, intangible resources and plural form. Intangible resources refer to those that the franchisor acquires over time and are deemed instrumental to firm success, namely, brand name, monitoring, and know‐how transfer abilities. Plural form refers to the coexistence of franchised outlets and company‐owned outlets within the same network. The empirical study involves 853 U.S. and French networks. Findings indicate that the percentage of company‐owned outlets in international networks is lower than that in purely domestic networks, and this holds for both the combined data sample (United States and France) and the U.S. sample on its own. Moreover, U.S. franchisors are shown to be much more internationalized, with a smaller percentage of company‐owned outlets than their French counterparts. The intangible resource that most strongly affects franchise internationalization is brand‐name recognition, whereas there is partial support for the impact of two other intangible resources, namely, monitoring and know‐how transfer ability. The results of the logistic regression models underscore the importance of intangible resources in franchise network internationalization as well as the significant and negative impact of percentage of company‐owned outlets. Finally, the drivers of internationalization are not found to be statistically different between both countries.     

The internationalization of African firms: Opportunities,challenges, and risks

There has been a marked increase in the internationalization activities of African firms over the last two decades or so, resulting in the emergence of regional challenger firms that are aggressively competing with foreign multinationals in terrains historically dominated by the latter. However, our understanding of this phenomenon is limited, as empirical research examining the nature of internationalization of African firms is scarce, and research directly investigating drivers, outcomes, and boundary conditions of the internationalization of African firms is lacking. The goal of this special issue, therefore, is to contribute to the scholarly understanding of the increasingly prevalent internationalization of African firms. This guest editorial provides a summary of the six articles in this special issue, and highlights three broad thematic issues: internationalization opportunities for African firms (accelerated private‐sector development and regional integration, and ability to overcome institutional voids); internationalization challenges (global competitiveness challenges, limited management and cross‐cultural capabilities, and overcoming the liability of Africanness); and internationalization risks (losing focus on home markets and over‐internationalization).     

Assessing experiential augmentation of the environment in the valuation of wine: Evidence from an economic experiment in Mt. Etna,Italy

In this study, we conducted an experimental auction to determine the impacts that “experiential augmentation,” a phenomenon in which a physical location impacts decision‐making, has on consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for wine. The experiment elicited subjects’ valuation under experiential augmentation conditions for three types of wine grown in the Mt. Etna area in Sicily, Italy. Our findings indicate that experiential augmentation increased consumers’ WTP for wine. Our results suggest that experiential marketing practices explicitly related to the environment where the wine is produced and consumed can lead to increased valuation for wine.     

Business motivation and informational needs in internationalization

We focus on an analysis of entrepreneurs’ motivation in business internationalization. Following on from the Regulatory Focus Theory, two differing approaches emerge: promotion (PMF) and prevention (PVF). PMF entrepreneurs approach internationalization spurred by their own motivation as opposed to PVF entrepreneurs who engage in internationalization motivated by the competitive environment. We propose that entrepreneurs’ motivational orientation depends on their prior international experience relating to business internationalization. Moreover, an internationalization strategy requires information regarding markets, barriers and support programmes. Entrepreneurs’ motivational orientation also impacts their informational concerns and alertness to informative stimuli. For the empirical application, we assess the opinions of entrepreneurs working in the Spanish natural stone sector. Findings reveal that entrepreneurs’ motivational orientation with regard to international opportunities changes as they gain experience, which at the same time alters their alertness and their informational concerns.     

Internationalization and performance of Indian pharmaceutical firms

This study explores the nature of the degree of internationalization and performance (DOI‐P) relationship in the context of the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The study relies on the stages model of internationalization to posit for specific relationships between DOI and performance in the distinct stages of international expansion. The findings are different from those of similar studies on emerging markets that have used a broader set of industries in their sample. Researchers should adopt caution when making any generalization of the DOI‐P relationship across contexts. Industry context in certain instances can be more powerful than country context in shaping the DOI‐P for particular firms. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.