Journal of International Management – Volume 25(1), 51-65
Multinational Enterprises: Leveraging a Corporate International Entrepreneurship Lens for New Insights into Subsidiary Initiatives
Mujtaba Ahsan, Stephanie A. Fernhaber
Corporate entrepreneurship has long been acknowledged as critical to multinational enterprises (MNEs), with dispersed entrepreneurial efforts involving subsidiary initiatives becoming increasingly relied upon. Yet despite the global context in which MNEs operate, the conversation has not fully embraced the extent to which many of its entrepreneurial activities overlap with internationalization. In this paper, we identify a set of opportunity phenotypes for subsidiary initiatives based on their market focus as well as the knowledge and capabilities leveraged to identify and exploit the opportunity. The recursive relationship between opportunities and dynamic capabilities is then discussed, with an emphasis on building a research agenda for corporate international entrepreneurship.
Management International Review – Volume 59(2), 203–228
Relationship Development: A Micro-Foundation for the Internationalization Process of the Multinational Business Enterprise
Jan-Erik Vahlne, Waheed Akbar Bhatti
The interplay between knowledge development and commitments is the driving force in the Uppsala internationalization process model. We perform a qualitative thematic analysis of longitudinal data, exploring how relationship knowledge development in supplier-customer relationships leads to commitments through opportunity identification. The results validate our claim that relationship knowledge development as a dynamic capability can influence the focal organization’s ability to over time, under changing needs and contexts, harness operational capabilities that lead to at least satisfactory performance. Judging from results, the relationship knowledge development process produces a change in commitments, thereby constituting a critical micro-foundation for the internationalization and evolution process as explained in the Uppsala model.
Journal of Small Business Management – Volume 57, 2, 298-326
Born?Global SMEs, Performance, and Dynamic Absorptive Capacity: Evidence from Spanish Firms
Ángeles Rodríguez Serrano, Enrique Martín?Armario
Interest has grown in explaining the positive performance of small businesses that internationalize from start up. In response to this question, we have empirically confirmed the relevant role played by dynamic absorption capacity in these firms and the influence of an entrepreneurial market?oriented culture, on the basis of the Dynamic Capabilities Approach, through a sample of 102 Spanish born?global SMEs. The success of these firms is determined by their ability to assimilate and to use knowledge in accordance with the demands of the market.
Journal of Small Business Management – Volume 57, 2, 496-516
Small Firms in Regional Clusters: Local Networks and Internationalization in the Southern Hemisphere
Christian Felzensztein, Kenneth R. Deans, Léo?Paul Dana
This paper reports on a three?country comparative study examining the internationalization of family winemakers in distinct regional wine clusters of Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand. In?depth interviews were conducted with owner–operators, to understand the drivers and barriers to internationalization of their businesses. Key findings reveal that while size and age are not determinants of the ability or propensity to export wine, the existence of an independent industry body has a positive impact and greatly speeds up the internationalization process, providing an effective route for small firms to establish their very often, relatively unknown brand(s) in lucrative foreign markets.
Journal of International Entrepreneurship – Volume 17(1), 75–102
Business model innovation of international new ventures: An empirical study in a Swedish context
Jan Abrahamsson, Håkan Boter, Vladimir Vanyushyn
Business model innovation (BMI) is receiving increased academic attention as a tool for gaining new or retaining existing firms’ competitive advantages. This paper investigates value delivery and value capture dimensions of BMI utilized by international new ventures (INVs) and shows how this category of firms differs from other internationalized firms in Sweden. Our findings indicate that INVs tend to innovate value delivery and value capture dimensions in the form of sales channels and logistical methods more frequently than other internationalized firms and reconfigure their external relationships more intensively as well. By utilizing longitudinal data, we show that these aspects continue to differentiate INVs and constitute a unique characteristic of INVs over time. Hence, this study enhances the academic debate on business models of INVs as well as on their long-term development past early internationalization efforts. From a managerial perspective, the study highlights where to focus BMI initiatives for sustained international presence and growth.
Journal of International Entrepreneurship – Volume 17(1), 103–126
International ecopreneurs: The case of eco-entrepreneurial new ventures in the renewable energy industry
Seyed Meysam Zolfaghari Ejlal Manesh, Alex Rialp-Criado
In this paper, we explored the relationship between the sustainable and international entrepreneur to define the phenomenon of “international ecopreneur.” This notion is applied in an empirical case study research about six Spanish eco-entrepreneurial new ventures competing in the renewable energy industry and showing their early endeavors to enter international markets. Results of this study emphasize that sustainability issues and making the world a better place to live, as ecopreneurs’ philosophical view, are key driving forces for early international development of eco-entrepreneurial companies, even in the pre-commercialization phase. Evidences derived from the cases show that appropriate international skills and experience-based knowledge in the energy sector and entrepreneurship are essential qualities for being successful in an emerging and globally integrated industry like renewable energies. Our results imply that ecopreneurs’ formal and informal ties, inner values, and prior international experience and education, particularly accumulated in the international context, are a determinant factor in opportunity recognition and international business development. Policy makers, for designing a more effective policy, should pay particular attention to the importance of non-financial incentives for encouraging ecopreneurs to enter international market. An important limitation of our study is that we only explored ecopreneurs’ behavior in renewable energy industry in Spain. Further research is suggested to empirically examine the current results in other contexts with distinctive energy policy schemes and in other sustainability-related industries.