Svenska Lantchips is a Swedish SME sized snack manufacturer. Being a small, medium sized, family-owned business with branches throughout the world, they make an interesting company for a case study. The case study I have conducted focuses on the internationalisation process of this family owned company – how they, despite their size, find ways to keep up an unique business structure, designed for internationalisation.The aim of this essay is to compare Svenska Lantchips’ internationalisation process with traditional internationalisation theories and see if these are compatible with this company. The theories used are The Uppsala Model, The Network Model, and The Born Global Theory, with The Born Global Theory representing the younger generation of models.After undertaking an in-depth interview with Michael Hansen, business developer at Svenska Lantchips, I collated a substantial amount of material, which I have used as the basis of this essay. Theories of storytelling have been used to interpret the information I got from Michael Hansen. Michael Hansen was chosen not only for his role as a business developer, but he is also the co-founder of the company, together with his wife, and brother in law. Previous research was studied to get information about attitudes within this research field today. The result from this thesis is that Svenska Lantchips have forged their own distinctive route out on the global market. Despite being a relatively small, family-owned company, with a low dependency on sophisticated technologies, they have managed to expand and internationalise at an impressive rate. By opening factories on foreign markets, sometimes even before exporting to them, they have produced a unique competitive advantage. Their internationalisation process at times more closely resembles that of a high-tech, innovative company, than a small, family-owned firm. The driving force behind them is their personal determination, and the philosophy that the world is one big market; they refuse to see cultural and geographical differences as an obstacle.

How is competition affected when market boundaries appears none-existing? Our way of communicating and interact has changed the business landscape and created one, international market accessible to all companies striving for competitive advantage (McDougall et al., 2000). Internationalization is the name of the process where firms cross national boundaries and take part of this international market. There are several theories describing this phenomenon, however one of the first models presented was one by the Swedish researchers Johanson and Vahlne in 1977. The Internationalization Process model, also known as the IP model, explains the internationalization of firms as an incremental process of international involvement where knowledge about foreign markets and market commitment affect the way a company proceed internationally. Today’s business landscape has introduced a new kind of companies, a product of our connected world; born global firms are increasing in numbers and described as small, often high technological firms aiming for the international market right after establishing. As the authors of this master thesis we found it interesting that a model such as the internationalization model is still used, discussed and referred to. How can a model deriving from the 1970´s still have such importance in today’s changed world? Is it even applicable for this new business arena that the born global firms constitute? Our research question has been as follows; How does Johanson and Vahlne’s internationalization process model work in practice for born global firms? The way we have analysed our findings is according to our purpose of the study; to define a born global company according to existing theories, examine its relation to the internationalization process model and create a more dynamic version of Johanson and Vahlne’s model. The research process has been carried out as a qualitative study where we have made a deep study of a small, high technological company in Umeå called Seaflex. We have also included an interview with the Swedish Trade Council to support and broaden our empirical findings. Since our aim is to draw conclusions about an existing theory, we have undertaken a deductive approach in our research. After conducting our research we have in our analysis defined Seaflex as a born global company, examined its relation to internationalization and then, in specific to Johanson & Vahlne’s internationalization process model. Finally in our conclusions we present a new internationalization process model focused on born global firms. Our findings are that when born global firms go international, the knowledge needed can be mainly obtained through the development of relationships with partners and new opportunities are discovered through the deliberate use of networks. Due to the fact that our research involves solely one company, we are aware of its limited generalization. Therefore, our main suggestion for further research is to examine our suggested model however with a much broader perspective taking several born global firms perspectives into account.

Problem: How do the born global firms overcome challenges and sustain performance in international markets through their competences, routines, and corporate governance structure? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the competences, routines, and corporate governance structure of born global companies, and understand their role in overcoming challenges of early internationalization and sustaining performance in international markets from early days. Method: This research is conducted as multi-disciplinary, consisting of literature from International Business and Strategic Management. Relevant data is collected through six in-depth interviews with executives of born global companies from Sweden and Norway. Qualitative analysis has been used at data analysis stage. Originality: This study contributes to literature by examining relatively neglected areas of born global companies; competences, routines, and corporate governance structure. It is also original in distilling a wide literature to explore challenges of born globals. Conclusion: Our research reveals that despite their small size and limited resources, born global companies engage in competence building and leveraging activities, establish early international routines, and construct flexible governance structures to overcome challenges and achieve performance in the global arena.

Det här arbetet är en magisteruppsats inom företagsekonomi. Studien behandlar samarbetsrelationer mellan svenska bornglobalföretag och indiska partner på plats i Indien utifrån en kulturell aspekt. Utgångspunkten är de svenska bornglobalföretagens perspektiv. Studiens objekt: Vi har fyra studieobjekt: Indpro AB är ett företag inom IT-branschen, Duràn Textiles AB och JMQ Sarees är företag inom olika delar av textilbranschen, Swedasia Travels HB är ett företag inom resebranschen. Alla fyra företag är svenska små bornglobalföretag som har nära samarbete med Indien på olika sätt. Studiens syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera vilka kulturella betingelser svenska bornglobalföretag stöter på i samarbetet med indiska aktörer och hur de svenska företagen hanterar dessa. Metod: Arbetet är baserat på en kvalitativ undersökning. Undersökningen gjordes med fyra fallföretag som utgör studiens objekt. Sammanlagt gjorde vi sex intervjuer. Teorival: Denna studie har integrerat tre teoretiska områden: Den första behandlar bornglobal som fenomen, den andra behandlar kulturen och dess olika aspekter och den tredje behandlar kommunikation som en del av kulturen. Slutsatser: Svenska bornglobalföretag som samarbetar med indiska aktörer agerar på en marknad som är relativ bekant för dem utifrån grundarens tidigare erfarenhet. Trots det upplever de svårigheter i samarbetet med de indiska aktörerna p.g.a. kulturella olikheter som påverkar arbetsprocesserna och kommunikationsflödet mellan de indiska och de svenska företagen. Tack vare sin storlek är bornglobalföretag relativt flexibla och kan därmed lättare anpassa sig till en ny kultur. Avsaknaden av stort kapital kompenseras med utvecklandet av nära och djupa relationer till sina indiska partners. Kommunikationen mellan svenska bornglobalföretag och de indiska samarbetsaktörerna underlättas av möjligheterna som Internet erbjuder vilket gör att det fysiska avståndet inte är något hinder för ”här-och-nu”- kommunikation. Grundaren av ett bornglobalföretag agerar som en frontfigur för företaget och har en nyckelroll vid hanteringen av kulturella skillnader.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore the challenges that are faced by born global SMEs and how they overcome these challenges. Method: For literature review and secondary research, data and information has been gathered from disciplines of international entrepreneurship. Primary research has been done on four born global firms; two from Sweden and two from Pakistan. Qualitative research and analysis has been used in the study. Originality: This study contributes to literature by covering some missing portions in born global discipline. In this research, effort is made to compile various challenges that are faced by born global firms, through literature review. The report further has focused on overcoming these challenges by gathering information through primary research. Conclusion: The research has concluded that there are certain challenges that are faced by born global firms in their international business development. These challenges are internal as well as external. Despite these challenges and problems, born global firms are able to achieve their position in international market by overcoming these challenges through building networks and competency alliances with partners situated internationally.

Författarna till detta examensarbete har intresserat sig över hur innovationer kan sprida sig till olika nationer genom exempelvis små innovativa verksamheter. I denna forskningsstudie undersöker författarna hur innovationer sprider sig till andra nationer och om innovationsspridningen kan relateras till en internationaliseringsmodell, delforskningsfrågan grundar sig i Rothwells femte generationens innovationsprocess. Författarna har valt att använda sig av en kvalitativ metod, med en deduktiv ansats där undersökningen har sin utgångspunkt från teorin. Den teoretiska referensramen innefattar modeller som beskriver organisationsprocesser vid en internationalisering, samt teorier riktade mot innovation, internationalisering samt internationell marknadsföring. Därefter har författarna i empirin, redogjort för hur de olika fallföretagen författarna har arbetat med, i praktiken har hanterat dessa fenomen i sina internationaliseringar. Analysen i denna forskningsstudie är uppdelad utefter tre fokusområden, innovation, internationell marknadsföring och internationalisering där författarna analyserar företagens upplevelser från fokusområdena och företagen analyseras i följd. Utifrån den information författarna har fått från de tre semistrukturerade intervjuer och en observation kommer författarna att belysa svar på forskningsfrågorna i de tre slutsatserna nedan; Digitalkommunikation är väsentligt för innovationsspridning hos små innovativa företag. Internationaliseringsmodeller kan ses mer som stöd istället för strategi Innovationsspridning sker i ett tidigt i en innovationsprocess Med tanke på att denna forskningsstudie är genomförd på endast tre företag och en organisation som utgångspunkt kan författarnas slutsatser inte antas att gälla som en generell beskrivning av innovationsspridning till andra nationer.

Background: In recent studies a lot of attention is drawn to the connection between networking and entrepreneurship. Many scholars consider successful business and networking inseparable. Taking into consideration the topicality of the two notions discussed above the authors of this thesis decided to conduct the research dedicated to these phenomena in the field that interests them most – in the field of Swedish fashion. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to gain a deeper insight into entrepreneur’s experiences to point out the role of entrepreneurial networking in the process of internationalization of a micro-sized Swedish fashion company and to contribute to the research in this field by telling its unique story. Method: To achieve the purpose of the research a narrative ethnographic research was conducted. This research strategy was chosen because it suits the purpose best by giving an opportunity to get fresh insights into the field of entrepreneurial networking from the point of view of the entrepreneur. The data collected has a narrative nature therefore narrative analysis is used to present it. The methods of gathering the data are face-to-face interview and documents. Conclusion: we can define the most important role of entrepreneurial networking on the internationalization process of Odeur as an effective accelerator and a tool to fulfil the knowledge and expertise gaps in certain areas through other actors in the network.

Switzerland has, despite being a rather small country, a big start-up scene which develops rapidly and puts forth many entrepreneurs. Currently, it is certain that any opportunity for competitive advantage must be exploited and emerging markets like India prove to be full of them. This research aims to investigate the cultural and institutional problems Swiss start-ups faced and how they overcame them when internationalising to India, using a qualitative research approach. Relevant theories regarding the topic were gathered and collated in a deductive manner with the empirical findings of five interviews conducted with Swiss Born Global start-ups, which internationalised either down- or upstream activities of their value chain to India. The findings show that institutional problems are largely dependent on the industry a company is working in. Cultural problems on the other hand occur in a more general manner and entrepreneurs internationalising to this market should be aware of the cultural differences to facilitate their internationalisation process. Further findings display the importance of an own network in the country and the indispensability of partners that help the companies navigate the Indian space.

In recent years, accelerators have gained increasingly attention due to their numerical growth, geographic dispersion, and growing numbers of participants they have worked with. Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox or Reddit – they have not only been participants of accelerators, but they can also be identified as ‘Born Globals’ according to the definition used throughout this thesis. Considering this fact and the lack of research in theory on the interrelation of both phenomena, accelerators and Born Global, it is interesting to dig deeper into the impact accelerators have on their respective participants’ global development. For this purpose, the authors conducted a multiple-case study to find answers to the question of what elements of accelerators promote participants to become Born Globals. This multiple-case study included semi-structured interviews with managers of four different cases of accelerators and three respective former participants as well as complementarily used secondary data in terms of company documents. Drawing from empirical evidence, it was found that the major elements of the examined accelerators fostering the participants’ development towards Born Globals can be summarized into five major categories: ’Application Process’, ’Interpersonal Connections’, ’Product & Coaching Methodologies’, ’Education’, and ‘Startup Community & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’.

[pt] O presente estudo tem por objetivo investigar mudanças no padrão de internacionalização de empresas Born Global. Alguns aspectos da internacionalização – tais como motivações, critérios para seleção de países e modos de entrada – foram analisados, bem como fatores que possam ter impulsionado mudanças na atuação internacional. Por fim, foi investigado se as empresas continuam com uma lógica de expansão, como nos primeiros anos, ou se estão tendendo para uma consolidação de posições. A revisão da literatura concentrou-se em elementos teóricos da internacionalização de pequenas empresas – empreendedorismo internacional e o modelo de Effectuation – além de estudos sobre evolução organizacional sob a perspectiva de Punctuated Equilibrium. Como a evolução das empresas Born Global é um fenômeno ainda pouco estudado (tendo a literatura sobre essas empresas se concentrado basicamente nos estágios iniciais de sua internacionalização), optou-se por realizar um estudo qualitativo com uma amostra de julgamento composta por três empresas, as quais atendiam aos critérios citados na literatura para caracterização de empresas como Born Global. Foi possível observar que, mesmo após vários anos após sua investida inicial no mercado internacional, a empresa pode continuar em expansão, embora haja uma tendência de apresentar também uma lógica da consolidação. Elas não buscam apenas o simples crescimento, mas rentabilizar os resultados, bem como vem utilizando critérios mais seletivos para a aceitação de clientes, seleção de países e tomada de decisões sobre o modo de operação no exterior. Como aplicação ao mundo empresarial, este estudo evidencia a busca por uma operação que minimize custos, o aproveitamento de oportunidades que podem ser de curto prazo, a atuação junto a parceiros (networks) e a receptividade para fusões ou aquisições. / [en] This study aims to investigate changes in the pattern of internationalization of Born Global companies. Some aspects of globalization - such as motivations, criteria for country selection and entry modes - were analyzed, as well as factors that may have driven changes in international operations. Finally, we investigated whether companies continue with a logical expansion, as in former years, or are trending toward a consolidation of positions. The literature review focused on theoretical elements of internationalization of small businesses - international entrepreneurship and the model of effectuation - and studies of organizational change from the perspective of Punctuated Equilibrium. How the evolution of Born Global companies is a little studied phenomenon (with the literature on these companies basically concentrated in the early stages of internationalization), we chose to conduct a qualitative study with a sample of trial consists of three companies, the which met the criteria cited in the literature to characterize companies like Global Born. It was observed that, even after several years after its initial foray into the international market, the company can continue to expand, although there is a trend also present the logic of consolidation. They seek not only the simple growth but profitable results, and have been using more selective criteria for customer acceptance, selection of countries and making decisions on the mode of operation abroad. As an application to the business world, this study highlights the search for an operation that minimizes costs, take advantage of opportunities that may be short-term relationships with select partners (networks) and receptivity to mergers or acquisitions.