Experience as a catalyst of export destinations: The ambidextrous connection between international experience and past entrepreneurial experience |
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Authors: | Esteban Lafuente Yancy Vaillant Marco Alvarado Ronald Mora-Esquivel Ferran Vendrell-Herrero |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Management, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona Tech), EPSEB, Av. Gregorio Marañón, 44-50, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;2. Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Toulouse Business School (TBS), 1 Place Alphonse Jourdain, 31068 Toulouse Cedex 7, France;3. Universidad Politécnica International, Costa Rica;4. Business School, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), Business School, 15th Street, 14th Avenue, Cartago, Costa Rica;5. Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK |
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Abstract: | This paper examines how different forms of accumulated exploitable knowledge—i.e., export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience—stimulate export destinations, defined as the number of foreign markets where businesses sell their products/services. The proposed hypotheses are tested on a unique sample of Costa Rican entrepreneurial businesses for 2017. Results from the sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN → qual) reveal that the ambidextrous connection between export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience is an essential prerequisite for explaining export destination figures. Also, the positive effect of export experience with the current business on export destinations is more prevalent among firms created by serial entrepreneurs. These findings corroborate our argument line on the importance of generative-based learning processes. Furthermore, the results of the qualitative analysis suggest that task-specific international experience and experience gained through past business venturing are relevant micro-foundations of international business expansion in the context of the export destinations of entrepreneurial firms. |
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Keywords: | Entrepreneurship Serial entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial experience Generative learning process Internationalization Export destinations |
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