Models of internationalisation: The New Zealand experience

This paper examines the models of internationalisation adopted by thirty firms from New Zealand. Analysis of the international model is based on five key dimensions: firm sector and size; international market scope; market entry and servicing strategies; and speed of internationalisation. Drivers and constraints to internationalisation are also considered in the analysis. Evaluation of these dimensions over time finds evidence of both traditional ‘stages’ and emergent ‘born (again) global’ models of internationalisation, and reveals that over one third of these firms experience dramatic change to their international activities and resources initiated by divestment or change of ownership. We refer to the alternative internationalisation trajectory adopted by these firms as the ‘transformational’ model of internationalisation. The paper makes a contribution to the extant literature by providing synthesis of the New Zealand internationalisation and by building on our understanding of how patterns of internationalisation from a small open economy are changing in response to global environmental pressures

Foreign markets entry mode decision for SMEs. Key factors and role of industrial districts.

The principal aim of this paper was to examine the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in regard to the entry mode selection process. To successfully accomplish this, a resource-based view model was used to investigate the primary factors influencing a SMEs’ international entry mode. Data was obtained during direct interviews with owners/managers of SMEs in Italy. The results revealed that entry mode decisions were primarily influenced by firm specific factors, above all organizational culture. The study also illustrated that SMEs were not influenced by their belonging to an industrial district.Small and medium sized enterprises; Resource based view; Entry modes; Industrial Districts

Testing for linear and quadratic effects between price adaptation and export performance: The impact of values and perceptions

Managerial perceptions are essential in explaining strategic decisions. It is, therefore, surprising that despite the number of studies that have examined the impact of managerial characteristics in exporting, little research has been reported in the export literature that investigates the importance of managers' perceptions on strategic decisions and resultant performance outcomes. To address this gap in the literature, the authors examine the key determinants of managers' psychic distance as well as its influence on international pricing decisions, and this in turn, on the export performance of SMEs. We also examine the quadratic effects of price adaptation on export performance. This is particularly relevant since price adaptation and export performance have been assumed in the literature to have a linear relationship. The results show that managers' perceptions have a significant impact on pricing decisions and resultant performance outcomes. Our findings also indicate that price adaptation has an inverted U-shaped relationship with export performance

Entry mode research and SMEs : a review and future research agenda

Research on SMEs’ entry modes remains limited and is spread across various, often disconnected research fields using a broad variety of theories, sample characteristics, and methods. This makes it challenging for researchers to identify interesting research opportunities. Our study investigates the current state of the SME entry mode literature by conducting a systematic literature review of 47 articles. Our review shows that scholars should be more careful when conceptualizing SMEs, and we recommend the use of both quantitative and qualitative longitudinal research designs. We explain how new theories and perspectives might address existing problems and weaknesses in this literature.status: publishe

Lusophone-African SME internationalization: a case for born global and international joint ventures

This study investigates the internationalization strategies of Lusophone Africa multinational enterprises (MNEs) from Angola and Mozambique, more specifically their entry mode. Information was gathered through a survey of 29 MNEs upper management respondents and subsequent face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 24 of them in their countries. The results suggest that most MNEs opted for equity-based investment strategies, mainly joint venture and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as their preferred mode of entry when internationalizing. A significant group of them opted for e-commerce/e-business strategies and direct and indirect exports. A smaller portion of the interviewees chose Greenfield investment as a mode of entry. Many of these MNEs could be classified as born global/international new venture (INV). Finally, this study presents a conceptual framework for use in studying the entry mode choice of enterprises from Lusophone Africa frontier markets and presents research propositions for better understanding the determinants of entry mode strategies of enterprise from Angola and Mozambique.https://doi.org/10.1080/15475778.2019.1634406Accepted manuscriptPublished versio

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines

Internationalization strategies of frontier Lusophone-African multinational enterprises: comparative case studies of Angola and Mozambique

Internationalization theories suggest that enterprises from emerging and frontier markets will adopt different entry modes than those in advanced economies. There are very few studies to date, however, examining the process of how multi-national enterprises (MNEs) from frontier markets internationalize or evaluating which factors influence their mode of entry into global markets. This research investigates the internationalization strategies of Lusophone Africa MNEs from Angola and Mozambique, more specifically their entry mode, to expand the framework for entry mode strategies to include the motivations and issues of MNEs from emerging and frontier economies. Surveys, as well as in-depth, in-country, qualitative interviews reveal that these frontier and emerging market MNEs opted for equity-based investment strategies as their preferred mode of entry. A significant group second group opted for e-commerce/e-business strategies, and direct and indirect exports. Finally, a smaller portion of the interviewees chose Greenfield investment as a mode of entry. Many of these MNEs could be classified as born global/INV.https://doi.org/10.1080/15475778.2017.1335127Accepted manuscriptPublished versio

Banks, local credit markets and credit supply

The volume collects the papers presented at the Conference on "Banks, Local Credit Markets and Credit Supply" held in Milan, on 24 March 2010. The papers presented at the two sessions of the Conference analyse how banks' lending activities are organized and how this affects the supply of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The first session focuses on new lending technologies and banking organization. The second session studies how these organizational variables affect the lending activity to SMEs. The papers draw on the results of a sample survey of more than 300 Italian banks conducted by the Bank of Italy in 2007.banking organization, credit scoring, relationship lending, soft information

Empirical evidence for a theory of international new ventures

This paper analyzes twenty empirical studies relating to international new ventures (INVs). Based on this analysis it is shown that traditional internationalization theories do not explain INVs sufficiently. Therefore a model integrating static and process elements from the empirical evidence as well as parts of the traditional internationalization theories is developed. Obtained was an eclectic theory describing and explaining the rise of new firms already venturing abroad briefly after the time of their formation. Key results A 4-pillar-model for explaining the internationalization of INVs is developed. The model relies on basic assumptions from the network-, the stages-, the internalization- and the monopolistic advantage theory.Born global, international new ventures, internationalization theory

A financial analysis of born-global firms: evidence from Spain

From the beginning of the 1970s to the present day, significant changes have taken place in the competitive and organizational behavior of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Recently, some of these factors have applied more intensively, and this has given rise to growth in the number of new companies that undertake overseas operations almost immediately (known as born globals). The phenomenon of early internationalization is relatively recent, so there are still many aspects that need to be studied. The objective of this study is to contribute to the scarce empirical literature existing in Spain on this topic, by providing evidence on the possible differences in character of the born-global firms compared with the rest of exporting companies. To this end, the focus of the study is on the analysis of variables such as the size and sector of activity of these companies, and their principal economic and financial magnitudes. A sample of 1,324 Spanish SMEs that were exporting in 2007 was surveyed; of this total approximately 12% identified themselves as having adopted early internationalization. The results obtained indicate that the born-global firms are, on average, smaller; they are classified mostly to the services sector; and they are much more leveraged than the rest of Spanish SMEs that export