Entrepreneurial learning in the international new high-technology venture

Abstract

We examine entrepreneurial learning in a high-technology firm that internationalized its activities from inception. Based on the small firm learning process model of Zhang et al. (2006), we seek to contribute to theory through examining the process of entrepreneurial learning as this applies to international new high-technology ventures (INHTVs). Towards this objective, we draw upon evidence from a single case study conducted over a seven-year period. The evidence suggests that entrepreneurial within an INHTV is a continuous learning process made of multiple learning epochs, which are learning loops rooted in similar learning mechanisms. We advance three research propositions associated with entrepreneurial learning in INHTVs. First, entrepreneurial learning in the INHTV is a process that starts at the individual level and progressively encompasses the whole organization and its networks. Second, the INHTV learning process is affected by the industry, technological and international learning orientations in which it operates; these, in turn, are contingent on the entrepreneurial team’s industry, technological and international learning orientations. Third, international learning orientation defines the business scope and critically affects the discovery of opportunities of the INHTV.