Abstract
This research article analyses the present explanations of the phenomenon of born globals, in particular within the context of South Korea with the objective of identifying the characteristics that can affect the rapid internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The traditional theories of internationalization have built with the aim of illuminating the internationalization of large multinational enterprises (MNEs). These models explain that doing international business develops progressively over time and firms establish themselves domestically before gradually turning into global markets. However, those traditional theories were unable to clarify the way of acting of companies which include SMEs that leapfrog or rising development of born globals. This has created a requirement for a new interpretation of internationalization. As an export-led country, born globals play an important role in improving South Korea's competitiveness. This review has significant implications which propose that many characteristics can affect the rapid internationalization of SMEs in South Korea even though they are still not precisely clear. Thus the paper highlights that wider empirical research is significant to this country for understanding the specific characteristics that are responsible for the rapid internationalization of their SMEs.
Highlights
The contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to national economies of many countries around the world is uncontested as the SMEs sector contributes in a number of ways for the long-run development in their economies [2, 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, 25, 39, 71]
A review of the literature shows that established theories have built with the aim of principally illuminating the internationalization of large multinational enterprises (MNEs)
This analysis offers substantiation that a company's internationalization is not restricted to MNEs but a considerable number of small companies are entering into international business
Summary
The contribution of SMEs to national economies of many countries around the world is uncontested as the SMEs sector contributes in a number of ways for the long-run development in their economies [2, 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, 25, 39, 71]. Research evidence shows that SMEs enter into international business within a shorter period than before and they are effectively carrying out their international businesses quickly These globally active companies have a propensity to grow much quicker than the small firms that serve solely domestic markets [2]. It is observed that these firms either have fully ignored their home market while coming into the global markets or selected to enter the domestic market and global markets promptly [49, 55] This abrupt rise has led to a replacement breed of exporters identified in various parts of the globe as born globals, global start-ups, international new ventures, and high technology start-ups. The paper highlights that wider empirical research is significant to this export-led country for understanding the specific characteristics that are responsible for the rapid internationalization of their SMEs with some directions for future research
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