Purpose – The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how networking is influenced by the choice of internationalization strategy of software firms with a born global mindset. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions were answered: How applicable is previous research on traditional internationalization strategies to born global software firms? How does networking vary between the different choices of internationalization strategy for born global software firms? Method – The research philosophy of this thesis was interpretivistic, supported by an abductive qualitative multi-method approach of exploratory character. Additionally, the data collection methods were literature studies, interviews and documentation conducted from six case companies. The collected data form the base of the developed networking and internationalization model which serves to support the general understanding of how born global software firms can internationalize and use networks to benefit their operations. Findings – By forming clusters and looking into how networking varies between the different choices of internationalization strategy, several types of internationalization strategies of born global software firms were identified, these being referred to as Nascent Global, Cautiously Global, Regionally Global and Instantly Global. Additionally, the results show that it is the choice of internationalization strategy that influences the choice of the networking activity. Nascent Global firms are firms who has not yet launched their service or decided upon internationalization strategy, they mostly network in order to strategize and plan; Cautiously Global firms operates nationally or have recently internationalized into another country, for them the networking focus lies on the process of learning to minimize the risk of mistakes or failure; Regionally Global firms are internationalizing incrementally with a regional focus and networking to access sources of knowledge; Instantly Global firms are those who are global right from inception where the focus is targeted at growth opportunities. Moreover, the findings show that Instantly Global firms are the ones that truly contradict traditional theory on internationalization strategies. Research limitations – The first limitation of this study is that we have solely focused on networking from the firm’s perspective and have not gone into the actual external network of each firm. Additionally, it would be appropriate to include a larger amount of case companies, in order to increase the level of generalizability. Nevertheless, due to limitations concerning the scale of work and time-constraints, six case companies were included. Further research – If practitioners would conduct a similar investigation of born global software firms, it would be interesting to conduct a quantitative study, analyzing potential linkages between the use of networks and internationalization. Also, since this study was cross-sectional, opportunities exist of conducting a longitudinal study, looking into how born global software firms change over time.

Submitted by Philip Pilwarsch (philip.pilwarsch@gmail.com) on 2017-05-06T11:03:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PilwarschPhilip_Dissertation.docx: 2038442 bytes, checksum: 5f6dc18f2f0d6ad8f3aee9f8725b5816 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Leiliane Silva (leiliane.silva@fgv.br) on 2017-05-25T12:39:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PilwarschPhilip_Dissertation.docx: 2038442 bytes, checksum: 5f6dc18f2f0d6ad8f3aee9f8725b5816 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-30T18:21:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PilwarschPhilip_Dissertation.docx: 2038442 bytes, checksum: 5f6dc18f2f0d6ad8f3aee9f8725b5816 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-17 / This paper tries to understand the factors that influence Brazilian software firms to pursue an accelerated internationalization strategy. A literature review gives an overview of existing theories trying to explain the born global phenomenon. Based on these theories a framework was developed, which lists the factors that have an impact on early internationalization. The factors are grouped in three different categories: internal, external, and entrepreneur factors. During interviews with three Brazilian software international ventures the relevant factors were identified. The results show that the flexibility and client-followership are important internal factors. Niche markets and foreign competition are influencing the internationalization from the external side. International experience and informal networks are important entrepreneur factors. Moreover, a difference between business-to-business and business-to-consumer firms could be found. / O presente trabalho tenta entender os fatores que influenciam empresas brasileiras de software a seguir uma estratégia de internacionalização acelerada. O estudo da literatura a respeito do tema expõe uma visão geral das teorias existentes que buscam explicar o surgimento deste fenômeno born global. Com base nessas teorias desenvolveu-se uma estrutura contendo uma relação de fatores que influenciam a internacionalização precoce. Os fatores foram classificados em três categorias: internos, externos e fatores empreendedores. Ao longo de entrevistas com três start-ups de software brasileiras que se internacionalizaram foram identificados esses fatores relevantes. Nichos de mercado e competição estrangeira estão influenciando a internacionalização do lado externo. Experiência internacional e redes de contatos informais consistem em fatores empreendedores importantes. Ademais, foi possível detectar uma diferença entre empresas que atuam no segmento business-to-business e business-to-consumer.

[pt] A partir de meados do século XX, os avanços científicos e tecnológicos desencadearam uma onda de transformações que vem atingindo as sociedades em seus aspectos: cultural, social, político, comportamental e econômico. Neste contexto, empresas intensivas em conhecimento ou de base tecnológica, como as do setor de software, vêm ganhando espaço no cenário econômico e galgando importantes posições nos mercados. Há um resgate da dimensão local na atividade produtiva e a discussão sobre temas como desenvolvimento regional sustentável, Arranjos Produtivos Locais - APLs e PLOLHX de inovação tem sido cada vez mais constante. O presente trabalho buscou analisar, sob o ponto de vista dos atores locais, os fatores de atração e fixação de empresas de software na região do município de Juiz de Fora, Zona da Mata de Minas Gerais. Para tanto, foram levantados alguns dados e realizadas entrevistas com diferentes atores, cuja análise permitiu entender melhor as possibilidades e dificuldades da região em relação ao processo de atração e manutenção das empresas deste setor e sugerir caminhos, que possam levar a forma mais adequada para realização dos dois processos supracitados. Este estudo pretende fornecer subsídios para futuras políticas de atração de investimentos para a região e para a busca de alternativas de desenvolvimento regional sustentado. / [en] From the late 20th century on all the scientific and technological advances occurred have brought a wave of changing`s on several aspects of our society such as cultural, political, behaviorism and economical which have made intensive knowledge enterprises or those based in technologies like software production ones to win more space in the economic scenario and reach important positions in the markets. There has been a rescue of the local dimension in the productive activities and the discussions around subjects as sustainable developing in particular regions, Local Productive Arrangements - APL, new ways of innovation, among others, have been getting more importance each day. This work has the intention of analyzing the factors of attraction and establishment of software enterprises in the Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais surroundings, under the local actors` point of view. Therefore some data were obtained from interviews with different actors and their analysis is going to make it better to understand both the possibilities and difficulties in the processes of attracting and maintaining these kind of enterprises in the considered region and it`s going to suggest actions to bring the most suitable ways to make sure the two of the processes already mentioned happen. This study is also going to present sources for future investment policies to the region and alternatives for sustainable developing.

[pt] Esta tese estuda, a partir da teoria de empreendedorismo internacional, da teoria de redes e de capital social, como as empresas brasileiras de software se beneficiam do uso de suas redes e do capital social delas advindas, em seu processo de internacionalização. O objetivo foi identificar as diversas nuances e estratégias de uso de redes de relacionamento pelos empreendedores ao longo do tempo, observando sua dinâmica no processo de internacionalização da empresa. Para tal realizou-se um estudo longitudinal de oito casos de empresas brasileiras internacionalizadas do setor de software, investigando o processo pelo qual ocorreu cada entrada em mercados externos, desde sua fundação até o início de 2016. Foram ainda levantadas e analisadas, nas empresas pesquisadas, 87 iniciativas de internacionalização. Foi empregada uma abordagem abdutiva, que pressupõe um processo contínuo de evolução entre teoria e dados empíricos. As fontes de dados utilizadas foram primárias e secundárias, incluindo entrevistas pessoais realizadas para o estudo, transcrições de entrevistas anteriores provenientes de base de dados existente, publicações, casos acadêmicos publicados sobre as firmas selecionadas, documentos internos e sites das empresas. A análise dos dados teve como objetivo avaliar a ocorrência ou não de padrões, por meio de quatro dimensões: o perfil das empresas e de seus dirigentes; as características das iniciativas internacionais das empresas; a forma de utilização do capital social e das redes no processo de internacionalização; e a identificação de benefícios associados ao uso das redes nos processos de internacionalização. Além disso, buscou-se identificar padrões de construção do relacionamento no decorrer do tempo. A análise se baseou na comparação de padrões e na análise cruzada de casos. Os resultados apontaram estratégias variadas de uso do capital social pelas empresas estudadas. De forma geral, as empresas brasileiras de software estudadas não seguem um padrão único, mas vários padrões distintos. No entanto, obtiveram-se alguns indicadores de como se constroem os relacionamentos, delineando-se ainda benefícios obtidos por meio de capital social e redes. Foi possível identificar um processo genérico de evolução de relacionamento. Conclui-se que o uso das redes de relacionamento é fator primordial para o avanço das empresas brasileiras de software no mercado internacional, o que corrobora estudos recentes que destacam o uso das redes por empresários de países emergentes como o principal instrumento para superar as restrições inerentes ao seu tamanho e ao país de origem. / [en] Departing from the international entrepreneurship theory, network theory, and social capital theory, this study investigates how Brazilian software companies benefit from the use of their networks and social capital in the internationalization process. The goal was to identify the nuances and strategies associated to the use of social networks by entrepreneurs over time, analyzing its dynamics in the firms internationalization processes. To this end a longitudinal study was carried out using eight cases of internationalized Brazilian companies in the software industry, in order to investigate the foreign market entry process, covering the period from each firm s inception until early 2016. In addition, 87 international initiatives were identified and analyzed. The study employed an abductive approach, which presupposes a continuous interaction between theory and empirical data. The data sources used were primary and secondary, including personal interviews, transcriptions of previous interviews from a database, publications, company documents, and information from company websites. Data analysis aimed at evaluating the occurrence of patterns considering four dimensions: company and entrepreneur characteristics; characteristics of international initiatives by the firms; use of social capital and networks in the internationalization processes; and the identification of benefits associated to the use of networks in the internationalization processes. In addition, the study explored patterns of the evolution of relationships. The analysis was based on pattern-matching analysis and cross-case analysis. Results showed a variety of different strategies employed by the firms studied. In general, it was not possible to identify a single pattern, but several different patterns emerged. In addition, there are some indicators of how relationships are built, and the benefits aimed by firms when using social capital and networks. We conclude that the use of social networks is a key factor for the advancement of Brazilian software companies in international markets, supporting the findings of recent studies highlighting the use of networks by entrepreneurs in emerging markets as the main instrument to overcome the constraints inherent to size and country of origin.