Is More Always Better? Risk Trade-offs among Internationalizing New Ventures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how ventures manage the negative returns associated with higher levels of internationalization. Many new ventures are internationalizing to fully exploit new innovations and/or gain access to larger markets. Yet at some point the rising costs associated with internationalization outweigh any benefits, resulting in an inverted U-shaped relationship between internationalization and performance. Design/methodology/approach – New ventures are theorized to better manage high levels of internationalization by limiting exposure to other sources of risk. This can be achieved by leveraging greater size and/or limiting simultaneous diversification efforts on product innovation. To test the hypotheses, a regression using Heckman selection was run using a sample of 210 US-based, publicly held ventures in high-technology industries. Findings – The results confirm that when higher levels of internationalization are coupled with either a low emphasis on product innovation or larger size, the negative returns are mitigated and actually become positive. Research limitations/implications – A key implication lies in recognizing the role of risk management for internationalizing ventures. Future research could benefit by testing for generalizability in other countries as well as among privately held ventures. Practical implications – To manage the trade-offs associated at higher levels of internationalization, ventures need to maintain a low emphasis on product innovation or meet a threshold in terms of size. Originality/value – The value of this research lies in better understanding how ventures are able to overcome rising costs at higher levels of internationalization

Venture Capitalists as Catalysts to New Venture Internationalization: The Impact of Their Knowledge and Reputation Resources

Venture Capitalists (VC) play an important role in influencing the strategic direction of the firms in which they invest. The findings of this study reveal that VCs can serve as a catalyst to new venture internationalization through the provision of knowledge and reputation resources. Furthermore, the international knowledge of a VC is more positively related to new venture internationalization when the VC is also reputable

Exploring the Role of Industry Structure in New Venture Internationalization

While we have gained considerable knowledge since the late 1980s regarding the phenomena of international new ventures, less is known about the influence of industry structure on these ventures. In the present paper, we draw on literature from industrial economics, international business and entrepreneurship to identify industry structure variables that fit within the theoretical framework of international new ventures. We then offer propositions as to how the identified industry structure variables individually and jointly influence the likelihood of new venture internationalization

Beating Competitors to International Markets: The Value of Geographically Balanced Networks for Innovation

Being able to launch new products internationally is critical for technology-based ventures to recoup the high costs of R&D and to exploit their innovations fully. Despite the widely recognized importance of networks within the innovation development process, there appear to be contrasting viewpoints as to whether local or foreign network partners contribute more in the race to internationalize. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of comparative advantage, we propose and empirically confirm that ventures pursuing a balance of local and foreign network connections for the development of an innovation are able to bring the product more rapidly into the international marketplace. Furthermore, both innovation complexity and industry clockspeed heighten the importance of geographic network balance to the speed of product internationalization

Construct and face validity of SINERGIA laparoscopic virtual reality simulator

Purpose Laparoscopic techniques have nowadays become a gold standard in many surgical procedures, but they imply a more difficult learning skills process. Simulators have a fundamental role in the formative stage of new surgeons. This paper presents the construct and face validity of SINERGIA laparoscopic virtual reality simulator in order to decide whether it can be considered as an assessment tool. Methods Twenty people participated in this study, 14 were novices and 6 were experts. Five tasks of SINERGIA were included in the study: coordination, navigation, navigation and touch, precise grasping and coordinate traction. For each one of these tasks, a certain number of metrics are automatically recorded. All subjects accomplished each task only once and filled in two questionnaires. A statistical analysis was made and results from both groups were compared with the Mann–Whitney U-test, considering significant differences when P ≤ 0.05. Internal consistency of the system has been analyzed with the Cronbach’s alpha test. Results Novices and experts positively rated SINERGIA characteristics. At least one of the evaluated metrics of each exercise presented significant differences between both groups. Nevertheless, all metrics under study gave a better punctuation to the executions accomplished by experts (lower time, higher efficiency, fewer errors. . .) than to those made by novices. Conclusion SINERGIA laparoscopic virtual reality simulator is able to discriminate subjects according to their level of experience in laparoscopic surgery; therefore, it can be used within a training program as an assessment too

One of us? Negotiating multiple legal identities across the Viking diaspora

Migrations from mainland Scandinavia during the Viking age resulted in the establishment of colonies across the North Atlantic. Evidence of sustained sociocultural contact between these colonies has encouraged scholars to recognise the Viking world as a diaspora. Medieval Iceland, by way of its poets, writers, and learned men, was the locus of the memorialisation of this diaspora. Laws provide historians with a way in which to understand the creation of identity in a past society and the criteria that formed the basis of these identities. In the Viking world, where separate identities were emerging while still being connected through the diaspora, the manner in which identity was constructed and negotiated is of special interest. This paper uses Grágás, the medieval Icelandic law code, along with laws from other parts of the diaspora and Icelandic sagas to unpick how Viking diasporans negotiated identity, where they ‘belonged’, and where they were excluded

Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in NF1: Evidence for a More Severe Phenotype Associated with Missense Mutations Affecting NF1 Codons 844–848

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a common genetic disorder with a birth incidence of 1:2,000–3,000, is characterized by a highly variable clinical presentation. To date, only two clinically relevant intragenic genotype-phenotype correlations have been reported for NF1 missense mutations affecting p.Arg1809 and a single amino acid deletion p.Met922del. Both variants predispose to a distinct mild NF1 phenotype with neither externally visible cutaneous/plexiform neurofibromas nor other tumors. Here, we report 162 individuals (129 unrelated probands and 33 affected relatives) heterozygous for a constitutional missense mutation affecting one of five neighboring NF1 codons—Leu844, Cys845, Ala846, Leu847, and Gly848—located in the cysteine-serine-rich domain (CSRD). Collectively, these recurrent missense mutations affect ∼0.8% of unrelated NF1 mutation-positive probands in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) cohort. Major superficial plexiform neurofibromas and symptomatic spinal neurofibromas were more prevalent in these individuals compared with classic NF1-affected cohorts (both p < 0.0001). Nearly half of the individuals had symptomatic or asymptomatic optic pathway gliomas and/or skeletal abnormalities. Additionally, variants in this region seem to confer a high predisposition to develop malignancies compared with the general NF1-affected population (p = 0.0061). Our results demonstrate that these NF1 missense mutations, although located outside the GAP-related domain, may be an important risk factor for a severe presentation. A genotype-phenotype correlation at the NF1 region 844–848 exists and will be valuable in the management and genetic counseling of a significant number of individuals