Factors leading to early internationalization in emerging Central and Eastern European economies

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurgita Sekliuckiene
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
International Entrepreneurship ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Tech ◽  
International New Ventures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Early Internationalization

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore factors leading to the early internationalization of international new ventures (INVs) in Lithuania – a transition economy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The determinants of early internationalization were grouped into three categories: entrepreneurial, firm-related and contextual determinants, and their impact on high-tech INVs that operate in emerging economies was investigated. Design/methodology/approach The research design is a case study approach. Case studies are presented of six Lithuanian entrepreneurial firms that demonstrated successful internationalization and rapidly expanded into foreign markets during the preceding year. Findings Region-specific theoretical propositions are provided for new ventures in CEE emerging economies. The results reveal that essential factors leading to the early internationalization of INVs operating in Lithuania, a transition economy, are entrepreneurial factors. Internationalization of INVs from CEE emerging economies is driven by push factors related to domestic market specifics; however, institutional factors do not seem to have a significant impact on INVs’ internationalization. Research limitations/implications The results of the analysis of the case studies are not generalizable to the entire population of INVs in Lithuania. However, the results are substantial considering the success of high-tech Lithuanian firms that started their international activities shortly after their inception. Future research can contribute to the literature by seeking to apply international new venture theory in the context of emerging economies with larger samples and a focus on distinct patterns of internationalization. Originality/value The findings contribute to the literature on international entrepreneurship by exploring early internationalization of INVs in the context of transition economies in CEE. This study’s contribution is based on theory building, especially in understanding the driving factors related to the early internationalization of new ventures founded by Lithuanian entrepreneurs. International entrepreneurship studies in the CEE, as well as Baltic countries, are limited, and this research contributes to filling this gap.

scholarly journals Have we made it? Investigating value-creating strategies in early internationalizing ventures

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 517-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romeo V. Turcan ◽  
Anita Juho
Keyword(s):  
International Entrepreneurship ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Dynamic Capability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
International New Ventures ◽  
Organizational Survival ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Early Internationalization ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Survival And Growth

Purpose The extant research on early internationalizing ventures focuses primarily on these ventures’ start-up phase or their initial internationalization. Scarce attention is paid to how these ventures grow, if at all, beyond their start-up phase or initial internationalization phase. This paper aims to explore how international new ventures transition from the internationalizing phase to the phase of being international, and whether they actually made it to that phase. Understanding whether and how these ventures reach their “made-it” point would contribute to our understanding of how early internationalization affects a venture’s survival and growth. In this, the authors draw on the dynamic capability theory of the firm. Design/methodology/approach Given the scarcity of theoretical understanding and empirical evidence in this substantive area of research, the authors adopted a multiple case study methodology for the purpose of theory building. Following an intensity sampling strategy, they purposefully selected information-rich, but not extreme two-case companies. The authors initially collected unobtrusive data in the form of running records and mass-media news reports from the inception of the case companies. They then conducted in-depth interviews with key decision makers of the case companies, namely, their co-founders and CEOs. Critical incident technique guidelines for data analysis were employed. Findings Grounded in data, the following constructs emerged related to value creation: strategic experimentation, gestalt tensions and legitimacy lies. Entrepreneurs experiment with and reconfigure their venture at several levels: goal (vision), decision (strategic) and behavioral (tactical) levels of the organizational gestalt to reach a threshold level of practiced activity. Entrepreneurs’ strategic experimentation efforts are fueled by tensions that exist at these three levels of the organizational gestalt. During this experimentation process, entrepreneurs may tell legitimacy lies to legitimate their ventures in the eyes of their stakeholders. Research limitations/implications Given the instrument the authors used to explore the issues and concerns identified above, the results are limited in scope. However, a number of questions and conjectures are put forward to guide future research in this currently under-researched area of international entrepreneurship. The authors have also suggested using the concept of turning point in future research to advance the understanding of the dynamic capability view of international new ventures. Practical implications Understanding whether and how international new ventures reach their made-it points would contribute to the understanding of how early internationalization affects international new ventures’ organizational survival and growth. Originality/value The authors have put forward the concept of the made-it point to aid international entrepreneurship researchers to investigate the continued growth, evolutionary patterns and the organizational survival of international new ventures.

Networking, business process innovativeness and export performance: the case of South Asian low-tech industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 864-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anisur R. Faroque ◽  
Sussie C. Morrish ◽  
Ahmed Shahriar Ferdous
Keyword(s):  
Business Process ◽  
Export Performance ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Tech ◽  
International New Ventures ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of business process innovativeness in the networking-export performance relationship in a developing country low-tech industry setting. Most innovation research in international business and entrepreneurship is conducted on high-tech industries in developed countries. Less research has focused on the low-tech industry context. This study bridges this research gap by testing whether international new ventures’ (INVs) networking resources impact their export performance through business process innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach The study tests the link between low-tech INVs’ networking, business process innovativeness and export performance using a sample of 647 export start-up apparel firms in Bangladesh, the second largest apparel exporter in the world. Findings The results recognize that an INV entrepreneur’s personal and inter-firm networking are directly and positively related to business process innovativeness and export performance. The findings also indicate that business process innovativeness acts as a mediator only between an INV’s inter-firm networking and its export performance. Research limitations/implications The study was undertaken in a Bangladeshi low-tech industry setting-the apparel sector; thus, future research may include data collection from a range of industries across countries. Data collected for the purpose of this study used a cross-sectional research design, and this may only have confirmed the relationships in the model and not causality between the constructs. Practical implications The findings highlight that low-tech INVs should focus more on leveraging their personal and inter-firm networking resources, as this should result in improved export performance. The results also provide directives for INVs in regard to improving their business process innovativeness to achieve increased performance. Originality/value The study is not only carried out in the context of low-tech early internationalizing firms (i.e. INVs), but also contributes to theory and practice by testing whether INVs’ networking resources (personal and inter-firm) have an impact on business process innovativeness, which in turn leads to improved performance.

Innovation for a (high-tech) nation

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 12-14
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Innovation Strategy ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings High-tech new ventures are typically beset by significant challenges in their marketplaces. Using effectuation, innovation strategy and the moderating force of opportunity shaping, they are able to gain competitive advantage. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals What do we know about capabilities and early internationalization? A review and synthesis

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eldrede T. Kahiya ◽  
Caitlin Warwood
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
International New Ventures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Early Internationalization ◽  
Brick And Mortar ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Market Factors ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Research Stream

Purpose The purpose of this study is to organize and assess knowledge on the capabilities pertinent to the early internationalization of born globals (BGs) and international new ventures (INVs). Design/methodology/approach A systematic approach is used to search, code, organize and synthesize 155 peer-reviewed journal articles on capabilities and early internationalization. Findings The study delimits eight operational and five dynamic capabilities. The synthesis links capabilities to three antecedents (i.e. firm specific factors, managerial socio cognitive attributes and market factors) and three outcomes (i.e. precocity, survival and performance). While 7 of the 12 linkages identified are well-established, relationships involving market factors, survival and dynamic capabilities are sparsely researched. Research limitations/implications The authors know more about the effects of firm specific factors and managerial socio cognitive attributes on operational and dynamic capabilities than we do the influence of market factors on either group of capabilities. Likewise, the authors know more about the influence of operational and dynamic capabilities on performance than we do their impact on precocity or survival. Practical implications As the pandemic has shown, businesses with adaptable capabilities (e.g. shifting from a brick and mortar to an online/omnichannel approach or micro-breweries competent to switch from manufacturing beer to hand sanitizer) have increased their chance of survival while helping society cope. Originality/value This to the authors’ knowledge is the first study to provide a comprehensive review of literature on the nebulous concept of capabilities, in the context of the burgeoning research stream on early internationalization.

scholarly journals A Novel Measurement of Speed in Early Internationalization of New Ventures

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oguzhan Aygoren ◽  
C. Arsen Kadakal
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Model ◽  
International Entrepreneurship ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
International New Ventures ◽  
Early Internationalization ◽  
Speed Measurement ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Current Perspective ◽  
Speed Measure ◽  
Internationalization Speed

This study offers a novel approach in conceptualizing and measuring the internationalization speed of new ventures. International entrepreneurship literature deals extensively with the internationalization speed of new ventures; yet, there is not an agreed upon conceptualization of speed. Majority of studies operationalize speed as the time it takes from inception to make the first international activity. However, we know from Physics, speed is equal to distance divided by time. So, current perspective in internationalization literature misses the distance dimension. As a main contribution of this study, we calculate speed in terms of distance and time by using CAGE distance framework with gravity model, investigate the antecedents of this new speed calculation for international new ventures and compare results with the traditional speed measure of time only. Results indicate new speed measurement is more reliable and valid.

The early development of International New Ventures: a multidimensional exploration

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1340-1367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kirwan ◽  
Tiago Ratinho ◽  
Peter van der Sijde ◽  
Aard J. Groen
Keyword(s):  
Early Development ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
High Tech ◽  
International New Ventures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Potential Resource ◽  
Foreign Operation ◽  
Representative Samples

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the early development stages of International New Ventures (INVs). Specifically, the authors explore how INVs acquire and leverage four kinds of capital – strategic, managerial, financial and social – to recognise a foreign opportunity, begin the pre-foreign entry activities, and finally start the INV. Design/methodology/approach A stage-based, multidimensional framework was used to investigate how INVs acquire and use the four capitals throughout the internationalisation process. Drawing on four case studies of high-tech INVs, this study tracks their development in three stages: foreign opportunity, pre-foreign operation and post-foreign operation. Findings Results indicate INVs build advantages and internationalisation activities occur before formal operations begin. INVs deliberately orchestrate certain kinds of capital contingent to the specific internationalisation stage. Further, the authors find that not all types of capital are equally important throughout the internationalisation process: INVs identify foreign opportunities when endowed with managerial and social capital; INVs source a majority of their managerial and financial capitals externally before internationalising; and INVs only contribute all four capitals simultaneously after internationalising. Research limitations/implications Findings contribute to knowledge about the development of INVs pre-internationalisation and pre-founding. The study is limited to a comparative sample of INVs, which impacts the generalisability. However, the findings provide a starting point for investigating similar effects using more representative samples. Practical implications Entrepreneurs can be proactive in networking activities to allow them greater opportunity to interact with potential resource providers dependent on the stage of internationalisation. Originality/value This study contributes to the international entrepreneurship literature with qualitative evidence of the micro-level processes of internationalisation. Very few studies investigate the early, pre-internationalisation and pre-foundation, development stages of INVs.

scholarly journals Formal institutions and the development of entrepreneurial activity – the contingent role of corruption in emerging economies

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arezou Harraf ◽  
Hasan Ghura ◽  
Allam Hamdan ◽  
Xiaoqing Li
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Corporate Entrepreneurship ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Business World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Control Of Corruption

PurposeThe paper aims to analyse the interplay between formal and informal institutions' and their impact on entrepreneurship rates in emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachThis study expands previous research in examining the moderating effect of control of corruption on the relationship between formal institutions and the development of the entrepreneurial activity. The study utilizes longitudinal analyses of a dataset from 41 emerging economies over 11 years (2006–2016).FindingsFindings provided robust support for the study's hypotheses. The results suggested lower levels of corruption positively moderate the effects of a country's number of procedures and education and training on the rates of entrepreneurial activity, while negatively moderating the effects of firm-level technology absorption on the rates of entrepreneurial activity.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has considered only one particular aspect of high-growth entrepreneurship, which is newly registered firms with limited liability. Although newly registered firms are recognized as one of the critical drivers of entrepreneurial activity. Future research should seek to examine other aspects of growth-oriented entrepreneurship such as activities involving a high level of innovation, corporate entrepreneurship or technology developments.Practical implicationsThis study advanced the existing theories in the field of entrepreneurship and institutional economics as it merged the two theories as a driving framework in the design of the study in the context of emerging economies.Social implicationsThe study tested a theoretical model by expanding the number of emerging economies in the study and found comparable findings that explain factors that may influence the likelihood of individuals entering entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThis article adds to the current literature as it highlights the importance of the interplay of formal and informal institutions in determining their impact on entrepreneurship rates in emerging economies. This is of particular importance to policy-makers, and the business world as the empirical results of this study show the benefits of control of corruption in boosting entrepreneurial rates in these economies, which strive for economic diversification in their developmental endeavours.

Business plan competitions in developed and emerging economies

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Awais Ahmad Tipu
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Business Plan ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Individual

Purpose This paper aims to review the academic literature on business plan competitions in developed and emerging economies to assess the contribution to the knowledge so far and identify research gaps. Design/methodology/approach A variety of databases (such as ABI/Inform Global, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier and Emerald Full Text) were used to find peer-reviewed journal articles. Regardless of time, different search terms were used to find relevant journal articles such as business plan competitions, business plan contests, business plan teams, business plan judges, business plan development and business plan scores. After a careful review of the identified articles, a total of 22 articles were included in the final review. The articles in the final set were manually coded using the thematic codes. Findings Despite the popularity of business plan competitions, limited academic literature exists, particularly in the context of emerging economies. A total of 16 out of 22 studies are conducted in developed economies. The findings suggest that the literature on business plan competitions is largely centered on the structure of business plan competitions, the characteristics of the participating teams and the benefits of business plan competitions. The individual level benefits of business plan competitions include the development of entrepreneurial skills, opportunity for networking and access to mentors. Business plan competitions can be better aligned with public policy, particularly in case of emerging economies. Therefore, a more focused and integrated approach among industry, academia and government in encouraging business plan competitions could potentially make a far-reaching impact in establishing an enterprising society. While much is known about the structure and the benefits of business plan competitions, there are various research gaps which need to be addressed. Originality/value The current paper is the first identifiable review of the literature on business plan competitions. The proposed questions for future research will potentially help in addressing the identified research gaps.

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