Transnationalising entrepreneurship in a peripheral region – The translocal embeddedness paradigm

Abstract

In a time when regional innovation strategies have to increasingly be place-based, the ability of small firms to engage in globalized networks appears as a necessary condition for the competitiveness of peripheral regions. To date, there is only scarce scientific evidence about what conditions enable peripheral small firms to be innovative and successfully positioned in global markets. Using translocal embeddedness as a conceptual framework, this research examines the relational biographies of 5 cases of internationalized peripheral small firms from northern Sweden. It shows that firm internationalisation does not lead to a reduced participation in more localized forms of interactions. By highlighting the importance of local agency, i.e. the ability of the firm to actively engage in multiple webs of relations, this research aims at improving our understanding of globalization as potentially cohesive process leading to the reconfiguration of local interactions rather than as a disruptive force dismantling them.