Beyond categorization: new directions for theory development about entrepreneurial internationalization

Categorizations emphasizing the earliness of internationalization have long been a cornerstone of international entrepreneurship research. Here we contend that the prominence of categories has not been commensurate with theory development associated with them. We draw on categorization theory to explain why earliness-based categories are persistent, and argue that a greater focus on notions related to opportunity can open new avenues of research about the entrepreneurial internationalization of business. We propose and discuss three directions for opportunity-based research on entrepreneurial internationalization, involving context, dynamics and variety

La toma de decisiones empresariales internacionales en las pequeñas y medianas empresas familiares

Family firm internationalization has become a topic of interest over the last few decades. However, there has been surprisingly little research about the actual international business decision-making in the family firm literature. The purpose of this article is to highlight specific family firm factors which affect the international business decision-making. Based on examples on international market entry, target market choice, entry mode choice, and entry timing decisions, it is suggested that long-term and regional orientation, knowledge-base and its transfer, bifurcation-bias, and perseverance of family managers are important factors affecting international business decision-making among family SMEs.La internacionalización de las empresas familiares se ha convertido en un tema de interés en las últimas décadas. Sin embargo, la literatura sobre empresas familiares ha investigado sorprendentemente poco sobre la toma de decisiones en el ámbito internacional. El objetivo de este artículo es destacar los factores específicos de las empresas familiares que afectan a la toma de decisiones en el ámbito internacional. A partir de ejemplos sobre la entrada en el mercado internacional, la elección del mercado objetivo, la elección del modo de entrada y las decisiones sobre el momento de entrada, se sugiere que la orientación regional y a largo plazo, la base de conocimientos y su transferencia, el sesgo de bifurcación y la perseverancia de los gestores familiares son factores importantes que afectan a la toma de decisiones empresariales internacionales entre las pequeñas y medianas empresas familiares (PYMEs)

Prior Experience and Export Performance: The Missing Link of Global Vision

Despite the scholarly interest in the prior experience of entrepreneurs expressed by the field of International Entrepreneurship, empirical investigation linking prior experience with international performance leads to inconclusive and conflicting results. Based on the concept of human capital and resource-based theory, this study provides a supplementary explanation by integrating global vision —the cognitive capital of the entrepreneur related to an international orientation— into this relationship. The study hypothesises that there is no direct relationship between entrepreneurs’ prior experience and export performance; rather, this relationship is mediated by an entrepreneur’s global vision. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling, drawing on a sample of 332 early internationalising SMEs in Bangladesh. To overcome the cognitive inertia resulting from prior experiences, entrepreneurs must focus on their cognitive capabilities, in particular the ability to see the world through a global lens. In order to improve export performance, policymakers must also provide additional support to strengthen entrepreneurs’ global vision

Emerging-market firms’ dynamic capabilities and international performance: The moderating role of institutional development and distance

While extant research has examined the separate influences of dynamic capabilities and institutions on international performance, their interactive role has received limited attention. Therefore, we examine the role of host-country institutional conditions in the relationships between emerging-market firms’ (EMFs) innovation-related dynamic capabilities and their international performance. We use multi-source secondary data and primary data from multiple informants from 254 Turkish international firms to test our framework. The study finds that the linkages between three innovation-related dynamic capabilities (innovativeness, supply-chain agility, and adaptability) and international performance are positively and negatively moderated by institutional development and institutional distance, but that their influences are opposite. These influences demonstrate that host-country institutional conditions shape the link between dynamic capabilities and EMFs’ international performance in a multifaceted and paradoxical fashion

Information and legitimacy : results from an experimental survey on attitudes to the 2017 pension reform in Finland

The legitimacy of a pension system or any social security program depends on its credibility and perceived fairness. In order to gauge this legitimacy, we need to understand the relation between people's knowledge and attitudes. This experimental survey into the role of knowledge and perceptions divided respondents into two groups: the ‘treatment’ group received an information letter about a forthcoming pension reform before they were interviewed, while the control group was interviewed without receiving this ‘treatment’. Comparisons of the responses from the two groups allow us to assess how the level of knowledge and the provision of information affect people's opinions on policy reform. We also consider the patterns of covariation between background factors, people's concerns, and attitudes toward pension reform. The results show that the information letter had a significant impact on subjective but not on the objective level of knowledge. Receiving the information letter improved acceptance and perceptions of the fairness of the reform

Corporate governance in International new ventures and born global firms

Acknowledgements The authors are listed alphabetically, and all authors contributed equally to this article and the editing of the Special Issue. We are thankful to Professor Susan Marlow for her valuable editorial guidance, and to Valerie Thorne for her assistance. We also want to express our gratitude to all the authors and reviewers whose important contributions made this Special Issue possible.Peer reviewedPostprin

The Role of Digitalization on the Internationalization Strategy of Born-Digital Companies

Digital technologies have led to born-digital companies, defined by their highly digitalized value chains, designed at their inception. Born-digital (BD) companies leverage digitalization across their value chains in the internationalization path. However, despite this emergence, very few empirical studies in international business literature have explained the impact of bricolage in conducting value chain activities and exploiting the internationalization strategy of BD companies. The present study responds to these omissions of how the digitalization of the value chain activities and the internationalization strategy enhance companies by allowing them to reach customers (users) and partners with available resources and less time. The results indicate that the digitalization of value chain activities facilitates the re-use and mixing of the resources at hand to overcome challenges, innovate solutions, or create new opportunities for international growth, in line with the bricolage theory. Overall, this study contributes to international business literature regarding, specifically, the behaviors of born-digital companies as they strategically approach internationalization efforts. </p

Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and the COVID-19 Response

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a crisis that has impacted international business and entrepreneurship globally. Many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been particularly hard hit, yet many are also finding strategies to survive and even thrive in this “new normal”.  This chapter highlights the survival strategies of SMEs in the small open economy context of Finland where, alike most European countries, international trade has been restricted due to the pandemic. We conduct a qualitative case analysis of five Finnish SMEs across different industry sectors, describing the internal and external changes they have undergone during the crisis, and we also shed light on the strategies and contingency planning they have been employing in order to survive. From the results, it is evident that internationalization remains an opportunity for Finnish SMEs. We conclude the chapter by summarizing our recommendations for SMEs dealing with the current and the next crisis, while also considering the generalizability of those recommendations in environments less stable and developed as the Finnish context.</p