Internationalization Of Entrepreneurial Firms Research Articles

The international entrepreneurial firms' social networks

This paper investigates theoretically the importance and impact of the international entrepreneurial firms' (IEFs) social networks on selected firms' strategies. We focus specifically on some core attributes of IEFs and the impact of social networks on such strategies as the choice of the foreign markets to operate and the foreign entry modes. The social networks are a major driver of the internationalization from inception and help in overcoming a variety of physical and social resource limitations as well as transactional hazards. We conclude that it is likely that both some fundamental characteristics of the IEFs and those of the foreign markets entered account for these firms reliance on their social networks.

Knowledge Combination and Knowledge Creation in a Foreign‐Market Network

This article rests on the idea that knowledge is dispersed among different individuals and entities. For international entrepreneurial firms to create new knowledge, they need to find ways to combine these dispersed bits of knowledge. Because of the notion that resource constraints make international entrepreneurial firms dependent on external knowledge, it is assumed that a portion of knowledge combination takes place in networks. The purpose of this article was to investigate the prospective impact network knowledge and knowledge combinations have on entrepreneurial firms' knowledge creation. Three hypotheses are developed and tested in a structural equation model, using linear structural relations (LISREL, Scientific Software International, Inc.).

The evolutionary network process of international entrepreneurial firms

This study discusses the evolution of networks and some of their characteristics during the internationalisation process of International Entrepreneurial Firms (IEFs). After a brief review of the importance of networks in the entrepreneurship and international entrepreneurship literature, a model is presented showing how the network can evolve and play a vital role as a vehicle for starting and growing IEFs. The proposed model lays the foundation for research on enhancing our understanding of the networking and internationalisation of entrepreneurial firms. The model describes how, in the start-up phase of internationalisation, and in order to enter new foreign countries and new international markets, the entrepreneur identifies international opportunities through the 'social' network and, hence, he/she accesses critical resources, including knowledge. In the ongoing phase of internationalisation, the entrepreneurial firm may form an interfirm cooperation. The latter may take the form of strategic alliances or other cooperative strategies; and when the network relations are typically dense, cooperative rather than competitive, an 'interorganisational' network will be created. The paper concludes with plans for some future research and recognises an overlap between the 'interorganisational' and 'social' networks, which together may participate in reducing the cost and risk of internationalisation of IEFs.

The effects of entrepreneurial proclivity and foreign market knowledge on early internationalization

Recent international entrepreneurship literature suggests an apparent tension in regard to the role of foreign market knowledge between the process models of internationalization and the early internationalization of born-global firms. From an entrepreneurial learning perspective, we argue that the tension can be resolved by understanding the source of the knowledge. For early internationalizing firms, foreign market knowledge tends to emanate from the innovative and proactive pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities across national borders, rather than from incremental accumulation of experience in foreign markets. Using survey data from young international entrepreneurial firms in mainland China, we test and support a mediating mechanism of foreign market knowledge as it relates to the pace and performance of early internationalization. This study contributes to the theoretical development in the emergent field of international entrepreneurship.

International Entrepreneurship Research: What Scope for International Business Theories?

International entrepreneurship (IE) research has commonly neglected significant perspectives applied by international business scholars. Explanations for the emergence and growth of international entrepreneurial firms largely focus on the resource-based view and the network perspective. While these approaches are useful, we suggest that IE would benefit significantly from a greater emphasis on its ‘international nature’. Therefore, theories of international business should be employed in conjunction with other approaches in order to appropriately emphasize the ‘international character’, holistically study the IE notion, and considerably broaden the scope of IE examination. Suggestions for relevant research directions are discussed.