With the FinTech industry being one of heavy expansion, geographic markets have thus far reached varying levels of maturity. This is suggested to favour Born Global firms (BGs) as a common rationale behind their non-domestic inception is to exploit maturity differences among markets. How FinTech BGs internationalize is hence an alluring topic, and albeitFinTech having risen to being amongst the most prominent areas of finance, FinTechmarket expansion has been granted little academic focus. Moreover, amid FinTech BGs often being equity financed and high growth, and the recent years’ favourable capital market conditions combined with surging FinTech valuation multiples, a need for strategically sound market expansion processes may not have existed. Recent trends are however conveying similarities to the dot com crash, and a new climate may be looming, justifying more research within the subject. This thesis hence aimed to enhance the understanding of how FinTechs internationalize in an industry characterised by BG opportunities, and to understand how FinTech BGsshould derive entry strategies to new markets. Through embarking from the academia, a conceptual framework was formed with variables believed to exert influence on FinTech BGs’ market expansion. A qualitative case study of a Swedish FinTech BG was thereafter conducted, examining its applicability,to understand how the BG status affect market expansion endeavors, and how such endeavors should be planned. The findings suggest that the geographical division of FinTech BGs’ ecosystems is the primary source of competitive advantages, and that one should leverage these in expansion endeavors. The thesis further argues that the value encompassed in technology opens opportunities for financially constrained expansion. It moreover adds to the discussion about entry modes in service industries, and argues that there is no vested interest in having distinctive lines among entry modes, and that they should be viewed as compliments. Finally, the study argues that valuation and funding should be granted larger focus in internationalization research. The findings suggest that BGs can exploit the geographical division between M&A targets and their own investors in search of arbitrage opportunities, a topic inviting further research. / Till följd av FinTech-industrins snabba expansion har geografiska marknader uppnått olika mognadsgrader. Ett sådant klimat påstås vara Born Global-företag (BGs) till gagn då deras utländska grundande ofta motiveras av att utnyttja mognadsskillnader mellan marknader. Hur FinTech BGs internationaliserar är därmed ett intressant ämne, men trots att FinTech har vuxit till ett av de mest framträdande områdena inom finans har FinTechs marknadsexpansion beviljats lite akademiskt fokus. Vidare, då FinTech BGs tenderar att vara kapitalfinansierade och snabbt växande, samt med hänsyn taget till de senaste årens starka börsklimat och höga värderingsmultiplar, har ett behov för en strategisk sund marknadsexpansionsprocess kanske inte funnits. Nya trender visar dock på likheter med IT-bubblan, och ett nytt klimat kan därmed vara förestående, vilket motiverar fler studier inom ämnet. Detta arbete syftade därmed till att förbättra förståelsen för hur FinTechs internationaliserar i en industri som kännetecknas av BG-möjligheter, samt att förstå hur FinTech BGs bör utforma en strategi för att expandera till nya marknader. Genom att ta avstamp i akademin skapades ett konceptuellt ramverk innehållande variabler som ansågs påverka FinTech BGs geografiska expansion. En kvalitativ fallstudie på ett svenskt FinTech BG genomfördes därefter, där dess tillämpbarhet undersöktes för att förstå hur BG-kännetecken påverkar marknadsexpansion, samt vad som bör tas i beaktande när sådan expansion planeras. Resultaten tyder på att FinTech BGs geografiskt utspridda ekosystem är deras primära källa till konkurrensfördelar, och att man bör dra nytta av detta när man internationaliserar. Studien argumenterar vidare för att det värde som finns i teknologin öppnar upp möjligheter till marknadsexpansion under finansiella begränsningar. Dessutom adderar rapporten till diskussionen gällande metoder för inträde på nyamarknader inom serviceindustrier, och argumenterar för att det inte finns ett egenintresse med tydliga avgränsningar mellan olika metoder utan att de bör ses som komplement. Slutligen argumenterar studien för att företagsvärdering och finansiering bör bli givna större fokus inom internationaliseringsforskning. Resultaten tyder på att BGs kan utnyttjadet faktum att förvärvskandidater och deras egna investerare befinner sig i olika geografieri sökande efter arbitragemöjligheter, ett område som bjuder in till vidare forskning.

International entrepreneurship is a prominent phenomenon in contemporary research, because of the ease of internationalisation for companies. Start-up hubs in Europe are booming and especially web-based tech companies internationalise quickly. This new type of company, which internationalises almost immediately after foundation, is called born global. Research showed that despite the interest in born global tech start-ups, there is no representative model visualising the process of their internationalisation. Therefore, secondary research is conducted, as well as empirical research in the form of qualitative interviews with three representative, successfully internationalised tech start-ups from Europe. These companies are the music streaming service Spotify, social marketing SaaS Facelift and business management SaaS Ivy. The internationalisation factors resulting from this research can be divided into a preparation phase, possible strategy development and an implementation phase. Within these phases, factors are separated into company- internal and external influences. Based on these findings, a new model on the internationalisation process of web- based tech start-ups is developed. / Internationell entreprenörskap är ett framstående fenomen inom modern forskning eftersom det blir enklare för företag att expandera över nationsgränserna. Startup-hubbar växer fram överallt i Europa och framförallt webbaserade techbolag är snabba med sin internationaliseringsprocess. Det handlar huvudsakligen om en viss typ av företag som kallas för born global, vilket innebär att bolaget börjar sälja sina produkter eller tjänster internationellt direkt efter grundandet. Forskning kring ämnet visar att det finns ett stort intresse för denna typ av företag men inga representativa modeller som visualiserar processen bakom deras internationalisering. Därför genomfördes sekundär forskning samt empirisk forskning i form av tre kvalitativa intervjuer med representanter från framgångsrika och internationella tech startups från Europa. Undersökningen ledde till upptäckten av olika faktorer som påverkar internationaliseringsprocessen. Dessa faktorer kategoriseras som interna eller externa påverkningar på företaget. Internationaliseringsfaktorerna kan delas in i tre faser - förberedelse, möjlig utveckling av strategi och implementering. Baserat på dessa resultat har en modell om internationaliseringsprocessen för born global tech startups utvecklats.

全球化時代的來臨，促進企業的國際化並加速了國際貿易的成長。企業進行海外拓展國際化的第一步便是出口，也因此出口績效儼然成為許多國際商業或經濟學者探討的重要議題。然而，在如此眾多的出口績效研究中，研究目標卻鮮少為新興市場企業。 新興市場如今已於全球市場竄起，許多投資者皆對新興市場趨之若鶩。在與已開發經濟體大相逕庭的環境中，新興市場企業之出口績效決定因素又與已開發經濟體是否相異，本研究將以新興市場為主要目標探討出口績效因素以補齊過去文獻之不足。 本研究於B2B電子商務平台中隨機蒐集了319個樣本，透過後進者觀點切入，加入過去未受詳盡探討之因素並搭配樣本特性，歸納出五項因素：創新能力、產品品質控管、電子商務使用時間、海外地區多樣性、是否天生全球化，並在控制公司規模的情況下以階層式迴歸進行實證分析。 研究結果發現，雖然各變數對出口績效皆呈現正向影響，但創新能力與海外地區多樣性並未達到顯著水準，故無法使假設成立。而產品品質控管愈佳或使用電子商務時間愈久皆可提升出口績效。另外，天生全球化企業之出口績效也會較遵循傳統國際化步驟企業之出口績效為佳。希望本研究結果可提供欲於新興市場中成立之新企業提升出口績效的方向，或已立足於新興市場中之成熟企業欲改善出口績效之方法。 / Globalization makes the amount of international trade growing rapidly than before. Firms do more international activities and seek for superior export performance. Researchers of International Business and Economics see this trend as an important topic to discuss. However, among so many literatures of the determinants of export performance, there seems to be little about the export performance in emerging markets. To make the researches of determinants of export performance become more complete, I will take firms in emerging markets as the study subject. I randomly collected data of 319 firms from a B2B e-commerce marketplace. With the aspect of late mover advantage, I take innovation as one of the determinants of export performance. Also, product quality and international diversity are both considered. Firms in emerging markets think e-commerce as an efficiency tool to expand markets and this is the reason I put e-commerce usage time in the structure. Finally, some firms from the sample are so-called “born-globals,” I also study the relationship between born-global and export performance. In this paper, I found product quality and e-commerce usage time positively affect the export performance; while innovation and international diversity do not provide a significant result. Besides, export performance of born-globals in emerging markets is better than other firms, which were not born-global. Hope this paper can make people who are interested in export performance in emerging market understand the situation more.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate how Start-Ups from Switzerland pattern their expansion to foreign markets and how prevalent traditional internationalization models are among Start-Ups. In order to conduct the research, the term Start-Up has been defined in comparison to other forms of enterprises. The first part of the literature review has been conducted regarding key concepts within the field of international business such as psychic distance or the choice of the right entry mode. The second part of the literature review has been conducted regarding relevant traditional internationalization theories as well as the international entrepreneurship theory, as counterpart to traditional internationalization theories. The theories have resulted in a conceptual framework that reveals the relations between the different theories. The thesis is built on a qualitative approach on the basis of a multiple case study by means of three interviews with Swiss Start-Ups. Further the thesis has followed a deductive approach to first build a profound knowledge about the internationalization process of Start-Ups. The authors of this thesis consider a good pre understanding of the research area as relevant to observe a pattern from the empirical observations. In the analysis chapter the differences and similarities between the theory and the empirical findings were discussed. The structure of both chapters, empirical findings and analysis, are structured in accordance with the conceptual framework. On the basis of the analysis, the conclusion chapter presents the responses of three research questions. Further the final chapter consists of theoretical and practical implications and recommendations as well as limitations and ends with proposals for a further research.

全球經濟穩定成長帶動企業國際化，並對中國企業對外發展提供強烈支持，而國際企業的型態也隨著貿易障礙下降而不斷演變成各式樣貌，企業逐漸改變傳統早期的漸進式國際化發展階段，而演變為自企業創立之初即具備全球化經營能力的天生全球化企業(Born Globals)，這股新興國際企業型態在開發中國家的形成過程，對國際企業理論與學術研究而言是重要且值得探討的議題。 過去研究對於天生全球化企業的定義目前未有一致之認知，且對其形成因素也有多種不同看法，然而相對於大多數學者專注的已開發國家天生全球化企業發展過程，本研究則是以開發中國家之中小企業作為主要研究對象，並期望透過探討中國中小企業是否存在部分可能變數，來瞭解其企業內外部可能影響企業發展為天生全球化企業之因素。 本文透過文獻探討歸納出研發能力、產品品質、經營能力與電子商務參與程度等四變數為天生全球化企業之可能形成原因，並蒐集128家中小企業作為研究對象，以邏輯迴歸作為研究方法，分析此四變數對於企業在發展成天生全球化企業的過程中是否會產生影響，以釐清天生全球化企業在開發中國家的發展過程。 研究結果顯示，擁有較好研發能力與經營能力的企業較有機會發展成天生全球化企業，且企業愈快加入電子商務市場，愈有助於企業早期國際化發展，本文期望藉由此驗證結果提供開發中國家中小企業在發展天生全球化企業時一些參考與建議。 / International enterprises has evolved to different types as the global environment changed. From 1990s, some enterprises begin their overseas business right at birth or near the founding year, which is quite different to traditional enterprises, and we call these enterprises as Born Globals. Why Born Globals can start their international business at the time they just established still not come to a conclusion today. Therefore this paper is trying to figure out the possible factors which encourage the enterprises, especially the small and medium enterprises in China, to develop the early abroad business. This study generated four possible factors of R&D, managerial competence, product quality and e-commerce adoption to analyze the possibility of Born Globals. And I collected 128 sample firms to exam my hypotheses. The final results showed that there are positive effectiveness between R&D, managerial competence and Born Globals, and the fast speed of e-commerce market adoption also advance firms becoming Born Globals. However, product quality did not show benefit to Born Globals in the results.

Network approach is more appropriate measure to describe the early internationalization of born global firms. The focus of our research is to investigate the origin, structure and role of social networks in the early internationalization of born global firms. We intend to investigate the structure of networks which is considered pre-requisite to study the other dimensions of network ties. Many researchers directly jump to study the role networks play without paying any attention from where these ties originate. Furthermore, much of the literature has connected the born global firms with high technology sector however, there are many examples of born global firms in traditional sectors. Similarly, very little is known about how various national context influence the internationalization process of firms. Therefore, we also intend to investigate network ties in the context of different industrial sectors and different level of country's institutional development by comparing born global firms from France and Pakistan.Our results reveal that these small born global firms use their networks to overcome the constraints to rapid internationalization which has been supported by previous empirical findings. The results also reveal that origin of ties is in both business-social or non-business social settings. Both weak and strong ties are found to have positive impact on the early internationalization; however composition of ties is different in low-tech and high-tech firms. We also argue that instead of country's level of institutional development, composition of ties is moderated by the industrial sector in which firm is operating.

Submitted by Maria Alejandra Calvache (alecalvache16@hotmail.com) on 2016-02-04T22:23:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS FINAL VERSION REVISED.pdf: 805774 bytes, checksum: e5b313a6f2ef9f8dd9654ad4e4641fa6 (MD5) / Rejected by Ana Luiza Holme (ana.holme@fgv.br), reason: Maria Alejandra, The number of the pages should count from the first page but only appear in the introduction Ex: Introcution page 10. Best. Ana Luiza 3799-3492 on 2016-02-05T11:34:43Z (GMT) / Submitted by Maria Alejandra Calvache (alecalvache16@hotmail.com) on 2016-02-05T17:18:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS FINAL VERSION REVISED.pdf: 806138 bytes, checksum: 8149af036255fcd333f46d724d7df774 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Luiza Holme (ana.holme@fgv.br) on 2016-02-05T17:20:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS FINAL VERSION REVISED.pdf: 806138 bytes, checksum: 8149af036255fcd333f46d724d7df774 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-11T10:27:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS FINAL VERSION REVISED.pdf: 806138 bytes, checksum: 8149af036255fcd333f46d724d7df774 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-08 / The 'Born Global' phenomenon refers to companies that regard the global market as their natural context and that start their internationalization process very early after inception. Traditional theories like the Uppsala model no longer can explain this process. Therefore, other theories have been emerging, such as the network perspective. There are some studies related to this field, mainly performed in developed countries with small markets and open economies. However, very few studies have been done in developing economies. Moreover, there are limited researches regarding the choice of entry mode and market selection of born global firms. Consequently, this study pretends to describe the main factors influencing the choice of entry mode and market selection of born global companies from developing economies. The focus of the research is the software industry and a multiple case study was performed to three companies in Ecuador. The methodology included in-depth interviews to founders as well as collection of secondary data. Drawing from empirical evidence, it was found that the main factors influencing entry mode choice are financial constraints, expected revenues, internationalization speed, niche markets and previous business experience of founders. On the other hand, market selection is influenced by similarities in language and culture, niche markets and network relations. / O fenômeno 'Born global' refere-se a empresas que consideram o mercado global como seu contexto natural e que iniciam seu processo de internacionalização muito cedo após sua criação. As teorias tradicionais como o modelo de Uppsala não conseguem explicar este processo. Portanto, outras teorias têm surgido, como a perspectiva de redes. Existem alguns estudos relacionados a esta área, principalmente realizados em países desenvolvidos com pequenos mercados e economias abertas. No entanto, poucos estudos têm sido feitos em economias em desenvolvimento. Além disso, o número de pesquisas quanto à escolha do modo de entrada e seleção de mercados das empresas 'born global' é bastante limitado. Consequentemente, este estudo pretende descrever os principais fatores que influenciam a escolha do modo de entrada e seleção de mercados das empresas, de economias em desenvolvimento, nascidas globais. O foco da pesquisa é a indústria de software e um estudo de casos múltiplo foi realizado com três empresas no Equador. A metodologia incluiu entrevistas com fundadores, bem como a coleta de dados secundários. Com base na evidência empírica, verificou-se que os principais fatores que influenciam a escolha do modo de entrada são as restrições financeiras, as receitas esperadas, a velocidade de internacionalização, mercados nicho e a experiência empresarial anterior dos fundadores. Por outro lado, a seleção de mercado é influenciada por semelhanças de língua e cultura, mercados nicho e relações em rede.

The evolution of globalization and technology have changed the playground for international business and made it possible for smaller businesses to compete internationally among large and capital intensive companies. Markets become increasingly alike with converging product preferences and changing the world into one large integrated marketplace easily accessible for firms of all sizes. Recent research in the field of International Business has shed light on small firms that rapidly become international market players, called “born globals” (BGs). These firms’ behavior contradicting traditional theory, such as the Uppsala Model, which propose that internationalization is an incremental process where firms must gain market knowledge and psychical distance to markets to internationalize. The Uppsala Model describes internationalization as a relatively resource-demanding process. However, the BGs most often have scarce resources, but still manages to enter several markets simultaneously. Previous studies have focused on manufacturing exporting BGs when investigate this relatively new phenomenon. Yet, little light is shed on BG service firms and their internationalization. The purpose of this study is to investigate the facilitating factors of resource-scarce Internet-based service BGs’ internationalization and barriers connected to it. Thus, this study aims to fill the research field of BG Internet-based service firms with more empirical data. The research questions are formulated as followed: RQ1: What important factors enable internationalization for Swedish born global Internet-based service firms? RQ2: Do the perceived barriers to internationalization for SMEs apply to Swedish born global Internet-based service firms, or are there other barriers present in their internationalization? As a theoretical framework, the researchers have combined three main theories, explicitly the Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities and Business Models. Further, SMEs’ perceived barriers to internationalization are included in the theoretical framework as a sub-theory, to investigate if those barriers apply to BG Internet-based service firms. The researchers have performed a qualitative exploratory multiple-case study including six Swedish companies. The empirical data acquired is presented in a case-by-case structure relating back to the theoretical framework. The data has further been analyzed in a thematic way based on theories using the cross-case analysis technique. From the study, the researchers have found that the most important factors enabling internationalization for Swedish BG Internet-based service firms are an internationally standardized business model, human capital, and the level of dynamic capabilities. Regarding SME’s perceived barriers to internationalization, no clear pattern was found regarding the sample firms’ perceived barriers to internationalization. Which implies that more research is needed in this area.

The changes in consumer patterns, digitalization, and the augmented diplomatic relation between Sweden and India has opened new opportunities for Swedish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enter the Indian market, which is characterized as an emerging market. Although SMEs often have scarce resources, they are succeeding in entering foreign markets and competing with Multinational corporations (MNCs). The phenomenon called Born Globals contradicts with the conventional internationalization theories. It sheds light on new internationalization paths, where the firm often is an SME and offers digitized products or services. Business networks and brand strategies are set to be important factors when entering the international markets, yet there are still research gaps in how Swedish SMEs enter the Indian market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the motives of Swedish SMEs when establishing in the Indian market. A qualitative methodology was used, by collecting data through semi-structured interviews from multiple case studies: (1) advisory organisations and (2) companies. The findings show that India is perceived as a continent rather than a country since there are differences in state growth rates and purchasing power. Other findings show that international business networks and market knowledge are crucial for entering a new market. SMEs do not need to have an established brand to succeed in entering the Indian market. / Förändringar i konsumentmönster, digitalisering och den ökade diplomatiska relationen mellan Sverige och Indien har öppnat nya möjligheter för svenska små och medelstora företag (SMF) att träda in på den indiska marknaden, som även kännetecknas som en tillväxtmarknad. SMF besitter oftast knappa resurser, när de vill konkurrera med multinationella företag (MNC) på den internationella marknaden. Fenomenet som kallas Born Globals strider mot de konventionella internationaliserings-teorierna och belyser istället hur SMF-bolagen expanderar och etablerar sig internationellt. Denna studie fokuserar på SMF som erbjuder digitaliserade produkter eller tjänster. Affärsnätverk och varumärkesstrategier anses vara viktiga faktorer vid inträde på de internationella marknaderna, men det finns fortfarande forskningsgap i hur svenska SMF träder in på den indiska marknaden. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka vilka grundläggande motiv som svenska SMF har vid etablering på den indiska marknaden. En kvalitativ metod användes genom att samla in data genom semistrukturerade intervjuer från multipla fall: (1) rådgivande organisationer och (2) företag. Resultaten visar att Indien uppfattas som en kontinent snarare än ett land, eftersom det finns skillnader i tillväxt och köpkraft mellan staterna, vilket attraherar svenska SMF. Dessutom visar undersökningen på att utländska affärsnätverk och marknadskunskap är avgörande faktorer vid inträde på en ny marknad. Däremot behöver inte SMF ha ett etablerat varumärke för att lyckas träda in på den indiska marknaden.

Ce travail doctoral s’intéresse aux choix du mode d’entrée des PME de service d’ingénierie souhaitant s’implanter sur les marchés émergents. Le contexte est à un double titre : un pays d’économie en transition, la Russie, et une PME du type Born Global de services à forte intensité de connaissances (SFIC), secteur parapétrolier. Notre recherche porte sur la détermination des facteurs qui permettent de franchir avec succès les barrières à l’entrée dans ce contexte. Nous avons procédé à la collecte des données empiriques primaires sur le terrain en conduisant une analyse qualitative exploratoire longitudinale d’étude de cas unique sur la période 2006-2013. L’étude de cas a été privilégiée afin de valider nos propositions de recherche issues des travaux scientifiques identifiés tel que les théories concernant les modes d’entrée, les PME Born Global, l’internationalisation des activités de services aux entreprises, les réseaux relationnels. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les PME SFIC du type Born Global se développe à l’international en suivant leurs clientèles, en s’appuyant sur le marketing relationnel et sur leur réseau comme un outil d’accès à une information fiable dans une espace volatile, à la différenciation de l’offre et à la rapidité de réaction pour exploiter une stratégie de niche. La nature d’activité des SFIC nécessite pour convaincre les clients, d’exploiter les capacités rhétoriques du personnel en contact, faire attention à l’image projetée et de gérer les relations et les interactions avec les clients centraux. Nos résultats font apparaître l’importance de l’étape pré-export pour la réussite du projet d’implantation dans ce contexte de marché. / This research work focuses on the entry mode choices that best fit the needs of SMEs of engineering services which set up their business into emerging markets. The context is twofold: a country with transition economy, Russia, and the so-called « Born Global » SME of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS), operating in the oilfield sector. Our study tries to identify factors that may help successfully overcome the entry barriers in this particular context. To conduct this research, we used an empirical approach of primary data collected directly from the field. Our exploratory qualitative analysis has been carried out longitudinally and involves data collection of single case study over the period 2006-2013. The method of single case study was privileged in order to validate our research proposals that emerged from the theoretical background related to the works about: entry mode, « Born Global » SME, the internationalization of professional business service, networks. Our descriptive results indicate that « Born Global » KIBS firms attempt to set up their business by following their clients, through relationship marketing and networks approach as a tool to get an access to reliable information in the turbulent environment, reinforced by the offer differentiation, reactivity and a niche strategy. The work and the outcomes of KIBS cannot be immediately evaluated, which require to convince customers through the management of rhetorical skills of contact persons, image production and interactions with central clients. Moreover, our results show the importance of pre-export phase to perform better the set up project in the context of emerging market.