Born Global Firms Research Articles

When marketing and innovation interact: The case of born-global firms

Previous research on born-global firms (BGs) has emphasized their strong dependency on establishing a competitive positioning from the early days of their existence. While many researchers emphasized BGs’ innovativeness as a driver of their competitiveness, the capabilities underlying BGs’ innovativeness are still under-researched, specifically, marketing, and innovation-related capabilities. Based on a preliminary stage of in-depth interviews with senior managers, we identified three capabilities, market intelligence generation, marketing adaptability, and team cohesion, that underscore the interaction between innovation and marketing. We then performed a SEM analysis based on data collected from 127 BGs. Our findings indicate that marketing intelligence and team cohesion directly and positively impact BGs’ innovativeness. Marketing adaptability was found to be moderated by environmental conditions—economic development and technological development. When economic development is high, salesforce adaptability enhances BGs’ innovativeness, while product adaptability or communication adaptability decreases BGs’ innovativeness. When technological development is high, product adaptability enhances BGs’ innovativeness, while salesforce adaptability decreases BGs’ innovativeness.

Born Global Firm Internationalisation: The Influence of Industry Factors

The established literature on born global firms has tended to overlook the significance of industry factors on born global firms’ internationalisation processes. This paper explores recent conceptualisations of the early internationalisation processes of born global firms and their drivers within an industry context to determine how and why industry characteristics impact the internationalisation of born global firms. Drawing on the born global literature, this study adopts an exploratory, qualitative approach. The results from a multiple case study analysis of four Australia-based born global firms suggest that industry characteristics are a critical factor influencing each firm’s internationalisation decisions. The key findings include high levels of global integration motivating firms to internationalise, high levels of local competition driving the choice of international markets to improve the firm’s position in its domestic market, and the choice of entry mode being determined by industry trends. Keywords: Global, Internationalisation, Industry Market Size, Choice of Markets, Entry Mode To cite this document: Murray Taylor and Robert Jack, Born Global Firm Internationalisation: The Influence of Industry Factors, Contemporary Management Research, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 289-308, 2016. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/cmr.14892

Institutional effect on born global firms in China: the role of Sun Tzu’sThe Art of Warstrategies

Purpose– This paper aims to investigate the role of Sun Tzu’s significant strategies on the relationship between the institutional environment and international performance of Chinese born global firms, a type of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) characterized by the company’s limited resources and its early efforts to internationalize.Design/methodology/approach– The methodology is based on a multi-case analysis of interviews conducted with four chosen born global firms, coupled with public database and Web site searches. Through the use of qualitative methods, propositions were developed.Findings– This paper provides insights regarding how the institutional environment, both formal and informal, has a strong positive relationship with born global firm’s international performance. Moreover, Sun Tzu’s significant strategies play a critical role in the internationalization process of born global firms in emerging markets.Originality/value– Although existing studies discuss the application of Eastern philosophical strategies adopted by firms in emerging markets, to the best of our knowledge, this is one of the earliest studies which evaluates the moderation effect of Sun Tzu’s significant strategies on the relationship between institutional environment and business performance. The paper contributes to scholarly discourse on the influencing factors of born global firm’s internationalization process. It also has practical relevance to international entrepreneurs and SMEs from emerging markets.

Significance of the speed of internationalisation for born global firms - a multiple case study approach

This article analyses the significance of the speed of internationalisation for born global firms (BGFs). In this multiple case study, BGFs are defined as high-tech start-up firms (HSFs) from a small and open economy (SMOPEC) like Switzerland. The theoretical framework consists of the Uppsala internationalisation process model and BGF theory. A sample of 20 subject matter experts (SME) is interviewed. The results of this study show that the significance of the speed of internationalisation of HSFs is considered essential for the survival of HSFs from SMOPECs. Consequently, all SMEs included early and fast internationalisation in their business plans and built their business models accordingly.

The Effectual Approach in Born Global Firms: Current State of Research

Objective: The aim of this paper is to systematise the existing research at the intersection of international entrepreneurship and effectuation theories and propose the future research directions in this area. Research Design & Methods: The research was carried out with the help of the literature review, where the articles reviewed were mostlypublished within the last decade (2005-2015) and come from scientific journals specialising in entrepreneurship research. Findings: The theoretical contribution of the study is the summary and critical analysis of the existing research on the application of effectuation logic in the international entrepreneurship field and propositions for further research. Implications & Recommendations: The results of the study are exploratory and there is a need for future empirical research at the intersection of international entrepreneurship and effectuation research. Contribution & Value Added: The research highlighted the division of the existingliterature into two streams - papers which claim that international entrepreneurs use causation logic and the ones that argue on the application of effectuation theory. The paper suggests the areas of further research within those literature streams.

How and why born global firms differ in their speed of internationalisation - a multiple case study approach

This article analyses the research problem of how and why born global firms (BGF) differ in their speed of internationalisation. It is based on the conceptual framework of the BGF theory and the Uppsala internationalisation process model. The research questions will be answered using a multiple case study research design with qualitative, in-depth, face-to-face, semi structured interviews of twenty subject matter experts (SME). The research results show that factors like the skills of the entrepreneur and the management team, their business networks, the business model of the BGF, the market entry mode, the successful implementation of a structured market development process, the uniqueness of the technology and the product portfolio, the availability of market opportunities, and the size of their home market influence the speed of internationalisation.

Investigating the impact of customer orientation on innovativeness: evidence from born-global firms in Turkey

Our study develops and tests a research model that investigates the impact of born-globals’ customer orientation on innovativeness through the mediating roles of technological capability, relationship quality, and relationship information process. Data obtained from 197 small and medium-sized born-global firms in Turkey were used to gauge these relationships through structural equation modelling. The results suggest that born-globals’ customer orientation influences innovativeness indirectly through the mediating role of technological capability. Simply put, technological capability acts as a full mediator between customer orientation and innovativeness. Contrary to our predictions, relationship quality and relationship information process do not significantly influence innovativeness. Therefore, the empirical data do not support the mediating roles of relationship quality and relationship information process. In short, our study contributes to current knowledge by examining the factors that influence the innovativeness of born-globals using data obtained from born-globals in Turkey, which is a newly industrialised country.

Founders’ Prior Shared Experience and the Survival of Born Global Firms

This paper investigates how founders’ prior shared experience in international firms impacts on the survival of born global firms. As the tenure of founders’ prior shared experience increases, born...

Entrepreneurial Imagination and a Demand and Supply-side Perspective on the MNE and Cross-border Organization

We focus on supply and the under-explored demand-side factors that help explicate cross-border expansion, the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) and organization. We explore how appropriability-informed and legacy-shaped entrepreneurial imagination motivates a process of creation and co-creation of the cross-border business context (such as markets, demand, and supporting infrastructures, including business ecosystems), and when feasible the wider institutional, regulatory and even cultural one, that conventional International Business (IB) literature takes as a datum. This is examined conceptually and by drawing on illustrative case examples. We claim that by focusing on agency, learning, intentionality and demand-side factors, our approach complements, and also challenges extant sometimes static, supply-side, agent-agnostic theories of the MNE and helps appreciate better phenomena such as market, demand and value creation, and co-creation, MNEs without firm specific advantages and born-global firms.

How to measure born-global firms’ orientation towards international markets?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of orientation towards international markets (OIM) for born global firms (BG) and present a measurement scale of OIM specifically designed for these firms. We propose a scale of OIM based on the literature review and a qualitative study. This proposal is then tested by means of a quantitative research design. The final scale not only considers three constructs of the market orientation concept: customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination; but also incorporates another construct related to the innovation capability of the firm (innovativeness and technological capability). This proposed measurement scale shows invariance across younger and older BG firms and, therefore, constitutes a useful measurement tool to be considered by future research analyzing the impact of OIM of BG firms on their performance.

The Role of Absorptive Capability on Born-Global Performance

We analyze the superior performance of born-global firms through the dynamic capabilities approach. The performance of these firms is shaped by a capability to garner valuable knowledge, with a view to its assimilation, its combination with existing knowledge and its exploitation. Absorptive capability is the key to the success of born-global firms. The impact of market orientation culture on this dynamic capability is also analyzed. Our research provides empirical evidence that companies are better equipped to promote the launch of new products and services, and new management processes and improvements when they integrate this organizational process into their routines.

Born Globals From the Resource-Based Theory: a Case Study in Colombia

This paper describes how a born global firm goes into international market from inception at its early years. The objective of this paper is to analyze from the resource-based theory how a born global firm engages in international market. This empirical investigation has been carried out as an explorative single-case study, a high-tech firm, Digital Partner, based in Medellin, Antioquia. The main findings of the research show that organizational capabilities based on intellectual capital are crucial for the development of a born global. Thus, capabilities such as entrepreneurship, global vision, internationally market knowledge, learning management, IT capabilities, technological innovation, collaborative work, networks and customer orientation are recurrent and they correspond to other similar research results. Contributions of the study are both academic (for the advance of the research in born global field) and practical (for the design of governmental policies to foster born global firms).

Social Network and Adaptive Capabilities Among Malaysian Born Global Firms

The purpose of the research is to understand the mediating factor of Social Network and Adaptive Capabilities to the Relationship between Malaysian Born Global Entrepreneur’s Behaviours on International Performance. In the global market’s environment, there is full of uncertainty impact that may affect the entrepreneur’s international performance. Social network, adaptive capabilities and the firm behaviour is affecting the outcome of firm’s performance. The dependent variable of this research is firm performance, the independent variable of this research is Born Global firm’s behaviour and the moderating variables of this research are social network and adaptive capabilities. Based on the collected data, the research concluded that there was a significant relationship for social network and adaptive capabilities on the relationship between born global entrepreneur’s behaviours that influence in firm’s international performance. The study is geographically localized and limited to testing a sample of small medium enterprise (SMEs), Malaysian service and manufacturing firms with a minimum of 5 employees and no more than 150 employees, and also have internationalize their business activity; example like import, export, franchise, direct investment and other international business activity.

Success Factors in Western and Chinese Born Global Companies

Born Global firms are becoming increasingly more important in terms of internationalization, innovation, ability to grow and providing employment. Most of the previous research about Born Globals is done in North America, Europe or Australia, all these being developed industrialized countries but not developing countries or emerging markets. However, the emerging markets in general, and the Chinese in particular, have become very important for the world economy. Our aim is to investigate the differences between Western literature and literature from emerging markets, regarding internationalization process of Born Global firms. We also aim to discuss the various success factors, which underlie Born Globals’ internationalization process, particularly focusing on Born Globals firms in the China. Our methodology in this research has been literature review and interviews with Chinese CEOs of Born Global firms. However, this paper is only based on the litterateur part of our research. Our analysis shows that most of the Chinese Born Globals publications about the internationalization success factors are based on the Western literature and use them as the theoretical platform in the design of their own research strategy and research questions design. The consequence of this observation is important as it indicates that Chinese researchers are reproducing research under different contextual and situational conditions that might lead to unclear conclusions or maybe even wrong conclusions. Furthermore, compared to most Western Born Global companies, which treat innovation as core competence, the innovation culture becomes one of the biggest weaknesses of Chinese manufacturing Born Globals’ internationalization. China has special economic environment. Chinese manufacturing Born Globals not only need to follow the market but also the government policies, since the government greatly influences the industries and the whole economy. To foreign investors who want to exploit Chinese market, they also should take Chinese economic background and government policies into consideration. One important aspect of Chinese born Globals, neglected in previous research on Born Globals, that has been identified in our research, is the critical success factor of Chinese manufacturing Born Globals—the political and economic background and the role of the Chinese Government in the transformation process of Chinese business life, and the Guanxi network.

The born global firm: An entrepreneurial and capabilities perspective on early and rapid internationalization

Our 2004 Journal of International Business Studies article, “Innovation, Organizational Capabilities, and the Born Global Firm” provided a framework for the phenomenon of early and rapid internationalization among young, entrepreneurial firms. This work can be characterized as an integration of marketing, entrepreneurial, and capability-based thinking around exporting, positioned as the born global exporter. The article also reported findings from a national study of start-up firms that expanded abroad early in their evolution. In the present commentary, we reflect on the contributions of the 2004 article, review the scholarship on the topic over the past decade, and offer suggestions for future inquiry. While the incidence of early internationalization by firms was a novel concept two decades ago, today such firms are found in abundance in many countries. Yet many unresolved research questions remain, including the crucial topic of what happens to “born global” firms as they grow and mature over time. Similarly, the issue of why some firms internationalize early, others late in their evolution, and still others choose to remain local, is a fundamental question for international business scholarship.

Early internationalisation of high-tech firms: past accomplishments and future directions

This article provides an evaluative overview of international management literature, in which the current research accomplishments of early and fast internationalisation of high-tech start-up firms from small and open economies using the example of Switzerland are analysed. The author puts a special emphasis on how born-global firms from small and open economies might use traditional internationalisation theories like the Uppsala internationalisation process model to acquire new clients in new foreign markets early and fast after their incorporation. The article discusses convergent and divergent findings in terms of conceptual and empirical issues and set forth areas for future qualitative and quantitative research.

Entrepreneur-related Constructs Explaining the Emergence of Born Global Firms: A Systematic Literature Review

Objective: The paper is aimed at structuring entrepreneur-related constructs and building a conceptual framework that can serve as a foundation for future international entrepreneurship research and theory building. Research Design & Methods: The author conducted the systematic literature review of 94 empirical studies and conceptual papers on the entrepreneur-related determinants of early internationalization in the international management journals in the years 1966 - 2015. Findings: This article discusses and groups the existing knowledge on entrepreneur-related determinants of born globals successful international performance. The major theoretical contribution of the study is the conceptual framework of the main entrepreneur-level determinants of rapid internationalization. Implications & Recommendations: The results of the study are exploratory and there is a need in validating the theoretical framework through an advanced quantitative study. Future research might try to integrate the reviewed entrepreneur-related constructs with organizational characteristics and external characteristics which determine born globals emergence. Contribution & Value added: This paper provides the conceptual framework that groups entrepreneur-related constructs into 6 main constructs which can enrich future international entrepreneurship research.

Conceptualizing Innovation in Born-Global Firms

IntroductionAccording to Knight and Cavusgil (2004), the early internationalization of a firm and its potential success in a foreign market are functions of its internal capabilities. The superior ability of certain firms to sustain innovation leads to new knowledge creation, which enables the development of organizational capabilities that result in superior performance,

Conceptualizing Innovation in Born-Global Firms

Conceptualizing Innovation in Born-Global Firms

Maturing, Technology-Based, Born-Global Companies: Surviving Through Mergers and Acquisitions

To date, there has been little research about the corporate growth of born-global companies and relatively little data exist about their maturation, survival as independent companies (or failure to do so) and their international strategies. The present paper is based on an empirical study of Israeli technology-based companies that were identified in the late 1990s as born global. We collected data about the continuing development of these firms for the decade spanning 2000–2009. Our findings show that maturing technology-based, born-global companies can increase their chances of survival by acquiring other firms. Although such acquisitions do not increase profits, they allow born-global firms to continue increasing their sales and to expand and upgrade their product line, which in turn increases their chances of remaining independent. The data also show that if the firms prefer to merge with another company, they are in a better position if they do not acquire any other firms beforehand. Finally, our data show that although the majority of born-global companies can continue operations if they survived the first decade, they are not highly successful on the measures of growth and shareholder wealth. One of the recommendations of this study is that for maturing, technology-based, born-global companies to remain successful, they must be more aggressive in their M&A strategy than they are at the moment.