Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice – Volume 48, Issue 1, pg. 71-103.
Leveraging the Lab: How Pre-Founding R&D Collaboration Influences the Internationalization Timing of Academic Spin-Offs
Walter, A., Coviello, N., Sienknecht, M., & Ritter, T.
Research shows that early internationalization is more likely when founders have international and business-related experience. But what if experience was obtained in other ways? We study the scientist-founders of 149 academic spin-offs (ASOs), using cognition theory to argue for a curvilinear relationship between breadth of pre-founding R&D collaboration and internationalization timing. Our longitudinal study combines survey and patent data to show that increased breadth of collaboration with international scientists increases and then decreases the likelihood of early internationalization. The results are similar but less robust for collaboration with industry partners. Our findings suggest that studies on experience in new venture internationalization underestimate the role of R&D collaboration and the research-based heritage of many new firms.
Journal of International Management – Volume 30, Issue 2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2024.101130
Aspiring to go abroad: How and when international entrepreneurial aspiration fuel emerging markets entrepreneurial ventures’ internationalisation speed
Michael Asiedu Gyensare, Domnan Miri, Nadia Zahoor, Mahmoud Alajaty,
While the international entrepreneurship literature suggests that international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) is a critical strategic posture that can enhance the speed of internationalisation, the drivers pertaining to entrepreneurial aspiration in the international entrepreneurship context remains underexplored. Using the theory of planned behaviour, this study explored how IEO arising from international entrepreneurial aspiration triggers the speed of internationalisation of entrepreneurial ventures in an emerging economy – Ghana. Based on a moderated mediation model, this study posits that international political network ties moderates the positive link between IEO and internationalisation speed and strengthens the positive indirect effect between international entrepreneurial aspiration and the speed of internationalisation. Results from a sample of 229 entrepreneurial ventures supported our hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as the limitations and future research directions are discussed.
Journal of International Management – Volume 30, Issue 2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2024.101132
Disguise or disclose? How identities of individual entrepreneurs on digital platforms influence their international success
Noman Shaheer, Yu Chen, Hoik Kim, Sali Li
This study aims to bridge the research on entrepreneur’s identity with the literature on cross-country institutions in a digital platform context. It investigates how cross-country institutions impact the effectiveness of digital identities in influencing individual entrepreneurs’ success on digital platforms. We offer a granular approach to understanding the role of digital identity by dividing it into two dimensions: the social and the virtual. The social dimension captures individual entrepreneurs’ real faces, while the virtual dimension reflects the interactions with stakeholders through social network sites. We argue that both dimensions contribute to individual entrepreneurs’ success on digital platforms, while their effectiveness varies across diverse institutional environments in their target countries. We suggest individual entrepreneurs who emphasize the social dimension are more likely to succeed in countries with low network readiness, whereas those who target a country with high network readiness should attach more importance to the virtual dimension. Our empirical analysis of 405 emerging YouTube channels supports our arguments.