Polarizing Effects of Early Exporting on Exit

Extant research offers limited and inconclusive findings on the effects of early exporting by new ventures. This longitudinal study examines such effects, taking into consideration the roles of competition and adaptation in international venturing and exiting. The findings alert us to the potentially negative impact of early exporting on exit. Despite the deterrent effect of exporter competition, those new ventures that engage in early international venturing are impelled to keep strategically alert and expedite their learning process, therefore prospering in the highly competitive environment. By attracting foreign investors, new ventures will be able to start exporting early, and endorsed by the knowledge advantages associated with foreign partners the rapid entrants have better continuation chances. At the same time, early exporting in a relatively less competitive environment or without foreign ownership will lead to higher exit likelihood. By highlighting the polarizing effects of early exporting in the life cycle of new ventures, this study reconciles the difference between the process model and theories on international entrepreneurship to some extent.</p

The dynamics of emerging economy MNEs: How the internationalization process model can guide future research

The rapid emergence of multinational enterprises (MNEs) from emerging economies calls for a re-assessment of established theories of the MNE. We assess the usefulness of the internationalization process model (IPM), also known as the Uppsala model, to explain the recent strategies of emerging economy MNEs. We argue that popular stages models derived from the IPM are not helpful, but the underlying process of experiential learning driving steps of increased commitment is an important element in explaining the evolution of these MNEs over time. Focusing on the role of acquisitions within internationalization processes, we illustrate our arguments with six case studies of Thai MNEs. On this basis, we discuss how the IPM can inform future research on emerging economy MNEs. Specifically, the IPM suggests focusing on the internal and external factors that may induce firms to accelerate their cycle of international learning and commitment, in particular the roles of networks, acquisitions, human resources, big step commitments, the home country institutional environment, and possible managerial biases