Information Technology and Firm Internationalization

Abstract

In the reality of the New Economy the impact of social media (SM) on business activities is often examined. The rise of SM and online communities enable individuals to easily share and access information. With the rise of social networks, there has emerged a new era of content creation where individuals can easily share experiences and information with other users. At the same time, the recently emerging focus of entrepreneurship scholars’ attention is the domain of international entrepreneurship which is the discovery, enactment, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities - across national borders - to create future goods and services. The process of internationalization is of vital importance when considering both new ventures and established enterprises. As the Internet has revolutionized the way individuals access and gain information, also the information on the possibilities of internationalization is available via this kind of communication. In the light of the above statements, the aim of the paper is to explore the influence of the utilization of SM by the entrepreneur at the stage of the process of firm internationalization. The information derived from social network sites from international contacts of the entrepreneur may be useful and may support the internationalization process. In this context, the aim of the paper is to present and emphasize the role of the use of IT systems in the process of firm internationalization.