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.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to assess the process of early pre-internationalised and pre-market established born global company and to provide viable advice as to how to internationalise the Indian market which is psychically and geographically distant from the Swedish market. Design/methodology/approach - This study follows a qualitative research approach with an inductive single case study design in order to examine in-depth the Swedish start-up, TurtleCare AB, throughout its internationalisation process. In terms of data collection, a triangulation method has been employed comprising both primary and secondary data. Findings - The evidence suggests the entrepreneur partly acts under the effectuation logic, in the sense of reaching out and attempting to create network and partners, however, more notable is the market research and step-by-step causation process carried out by the decision-maker. Hence, the effectiveness of logic (causation or effectuation) applied is heavily dependent on the situation the company finds itself in. Among the possible market segments to be addressed in India, the most prominent ones are hospitality and tourism together with healthcare. In fact, the Indian market presents numerous opportunities for the foreign brand, however, crucial cultural factors influencing consumer behaviour must be considered when formulating a market entry strategy. Research limitations - Research biases stem from chosen method and nature of data gathering as well as the extent of company research on foreign market/market entry and short observation time might have limited the outcome. Practical implications - A real-life example of an entrepreneur's journey may not only serve as inspiration for future entrepreneurs but also, provide several insights for further research on born global internationalisation, particularly, in what concerns customer segmentation and market entry strategy within a challenging yet promising international business context. Originality/value - The originality dwells in the assessment of the processes happening in a pre-internationalised Swedish born global firm that attempts to enter the Far East market, with a focus on entrepreneurial actions, opportunity perception and decision-making logic.

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.

<p>The 21st century would be a nightmare for Don Quijote: thousands of windmills are installed all over the globe and the number will increase tremendously over the next years. If climate change was an issue in the early 17th century, Don Quijote might have specialized in fighting nuclear or fossil fuel power plants.</p><p>The change in power production is clearly pronounced, and it inspires the market to respond immediately. Numerous wind turbine manufacturers emerge, developing one technological innovation after another. The trend clearly goes in one direction: horizontal axis wind turbines in all possible variations. However, there are a few companies that do not follow the mainstream – they swim against the current and introduce new concepts, with the potential to set new standards in the industry.</p><p>Nevertheless, the question whether these companies can establish operations and survive in an industry dominated by large multinational corporations arises. If these companies want to become recognized, they need to compete on an international scale from the outset – they become born globals.</p><p>This master’s thesis investigates the preconditions under which an innovative start-up company can become born global in the wind turbine industry. For that, distinctive resources and capabilities of such companies, as well as key success factors for the industry are defined. Furthermore, enhancing or restricting parameters lying within company’s environment – in particular, within its networks – are discovered. These findings are based on and supported by the case study of an innovative vertical axis wind turbine manufacturer. In addition, the influence of this company’s university spin-off origin is investigated.</p>

The 21st century would be a nightmare for Don Quijote: thousands of windmills are installed all over the globe and the number will increase tremendously over the next years. If climate change was an issue in the early 17th century, Don Quijote might have specialized in fighting nuclear or fossil fuel power plants. The change in power production is clearly pronounced, and it inspires the market to respond immediately. Numerous wind turbine manufacturers emerge, developing one technological innovation after another. The trend clearly goes in one direction: horizontal axis wind turbines in all possible variations. However, there are a few companies that do not follow the mainstream – they swim against the current and introduce new concepts, with the potential to set new standards in the industry. Nevertheless, the question whether these companies can establish operations and survive in an industry dominated by large multinational corporations arises. If these companies want to become recognized, they need to compete on an international scale from the outset – they become born globals. This master’s thesis investigates the preconditions under which an innovative start-up company can become born global in the wind turbine industry. For that, distinctive resources and capabilities of such companies, as well as key success factors for the industry are defined. Furthermore, enhancing or restricting parameters lying within company’s environment – in particular, within its networks – are discovered. These findings are based on and supported by the case study of an innovative vertical axis wind turbine manufacturer. In addition, the influence of this company’s university spin-off origin is investigated.

[EN] This thesis investigates the type of domestic network strength and type of decisionmaking logic as causal conditions for achieving accelerated internationalisation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in context of institutional voids. Furthermore, this dissertation explore the micro-mechanisms that connect the impact institutional voids, effectual networking and networks strength on the accelerated internationalisation of SMEs from Latin America. The existing literature shows discrepancies among researchers about the individual effect of networks strength, decision-making logic and institutional voids on accelerated internationalisation. Moreover, scholars argue that accelerated internationalization is a complex phenomenon that should be studied by identifying the complex relations among variables. However, it seems that no studies have explore this complex interaction and the connection among these factors. Consequently, researchers advise to increase the investigation about the effects of these variables on the accelerated internationalisation of SMEs. They have also suggest to incorporate effectuation and institutional voids to clarify these discrepancies. On this matter, researches warn that research on effectuation and internationalization is an emerging scientific field that lacks conceptual clarity. Recent studies also advice to move beyond foreign networks to explore the role of domestic networks on accelerated internationalization. Finally, there have been calls to advance research on Latin America that usually has been neglected in the existing literature. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide an approach based on three different methodologies: First, a bibliometric analysis to contribute to classify the literature of effectuation and internationalization, and identify its structure and key trends. Second, a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to investigates which causal conditions contribute to accelerated internationalization among 33 contrarian cases (21 from Colombia and 12 from Peru) of SMEs from context with institutional voids. Results show that the combination of weak domestic ties and effectuation logic accelerated the internationalization of SMEs with fewer resource constraints. In contrast, strong domestic ties and causation behaviour lead to accelerated internationalization of SMEs with greater resource constraints. Based on these findings, an integrative model that linked the causal configurations to reach accelerated internationalization is developed. Finally, an ordered logistic regression of 2.987 SMEs from Argentina, Colombia and Peru, to examine the micro-mechanisms that connect institutional voids, effectual networking, networks strength and location on the accelerated internationalisation of SMEs from Latin America. Results show that (1) rural cities, instead of first- and second-tier cities, accelerated the internationalization process of the firm. (2) Institutional voids, effectual networks and strong local ties increase the likelihood of accelerated internationalization. Finally, (3) we found a robust and high interaction effect between effectual networking, significant institutional voids, strong local ties, size of the firm and rural cities location on accelerated internationalization. Based on the findings, a conceptual model is presented. / [ES] A partir del tipo de las relaciones de la red de contactos locales y la lógica en la toma de decisiones, esta tesis investiga las condiciones causales necesarias para que las pequeñas y medianas empresas (Pymes) que están situadas en contextos caracterizados por vacíos institucionales, logren tener una internacionalización acelerada. Adicionalmente, esta disertación explora los micro-mecanismos que conectan los vacíos institucionales, las redes efectúales y el tipo de relaciones (fuertes o débiles) con la internacionalización acelerada que presentan las Pymes de Latinoamérica. La literatura existente muestra discrepancias sobre el efecto individual que tienen las relaciones de la red de contactos locales, la lógica en la toma de decisiones y los vacíos institucionales sobre la internacionalización acelerada. Así mismo, los investigadores argumentan que este es un fenómeno complejo y por lo tanto, debería analizarse identificando las relaciones complejas que puedan existir entre las variables. Sin embargo, al parecer, ningún estudio ha explorado esta compleja interacción y la conexión que existe entre estos factores. En consecuencia, diversos estudios aconsejan ahondar en la investigación sobre los efectos que pueden tener estas variables sobre la internacionalización acelerada de las Pymes. Adicionalmente, han sugerido incorporar la efectuación y los vacíos institucionales como variables que pueden contribuir a aclarar estas discrepancias. Sobre este asunto, los investigadores advierten que la efectuación y la internacionalización, es un campo científico emergente que carece de claridad conceptual. Estudios recientes también aconsejan que la investigación vaya más allá de las redes internacionales para explorar el papel de las redes locales sobre la internacionalización acelerada. Finalmente, ha habido diversos llamados para avanzar en la investigación sobre América Latina, que es una región que generalmente se ha descuidado en la investigación existente. Consecuentemente, esta tesis tiene como objetivo desarrollar la investigación bajo tres metodologías diferentes: Primero, a través de un análisis bibliométrico que permite contribuir con la clasificación de la literatura, la identificación de la estructura y las tendencias de la investigación sobre la efectuación y la internacionalización de las Pymes. En segundo lugar, a través de un Análisis Cualitativo Comparativo (fsQCA por sus siglas en inglés) que contribuye a identificar las condiciones causales que favorecen la internacionalización acelerada de 33 casos contrarios (21 de Colombia y 12 de Perú) de Pymes localizadas en contextos con vacíos institucionales. El resultado de este estudio demuestra que la combinación de redes locales con lazos débiles y la lógica de la efectuación, contribuyen con la internacionalización acelerada de las Pymes que tienen menores limitaciones en sus recursos. En contraste, las redes locales con lazos fuertes y la lógica de causación, asisten la internacionalización acelerada de las Pymes que tienen una mayor limitación en sus recursos. En base a estos hallazgos, se desarrolla un modelo integrador que vincula las configuraciones causales que permiten obtener una internacionalización acelerada. Finalmente, a través de una regresión logística ordenada de 2.987 Pymes de Argentina, Colombia y Perú, se examinan los micro-mecanismos que conectan los vacíos institucionales, las redes efectúales, el tipo de relación con las redes de contacto y la localización con la internacionalización acelerada de las Pymes de Latinoamérica. Los resultados demuestran que las ciudades rurales, en lugar de las ciudades de primer y segundo nivel, aceleran la internacionalización de las empresas. Adicionalmente, los altos niveles de vacíos institucionales, las redes efectúales, las redes locales de lazos fuertes y localizarse en el área rural, aumentan la probabilidad de una internacionalización acelerada. Además, la investigación evidencia que existe un efecto de interacción fuerte y robusta entre las redes locales de lazos fuertes y los altos niveles de vacíos institucionales sobre la internacionalización acelerada. Este mismo efecto de interacción se da entre las redes locales de lazos fuertes y las redes efectúales y las redes locales de lazos fuertes con la localización en áreas rurales. Basados en estos resultados, se propone un modelo conceptual. / [CA] A partir de la mena de les relacions de la xarxa de contactes locals i la lògica en la presa de decisions, aquesta tesi investiga les condicions causals necessàries perquè les petites i mitjanes empreses (Pimes) que estan situades en contextos caracteritzats per buits institucionals, aconseguisquen tindre una internacionalització accelerada. Addicionalment, aquesta dissertació explora els micro-mecanismes que connecten els buits institucionals, les xarxes efectua'ls i el tipus de relacions (fortes o febles) amb la internacionalització accelerada que presenten les Pimes de Llatinoamèrica. La literatura existent mostra discrepàncies sobre l'efecte individual que tenen les relacions de la xarxa de contactes locals, la lògica en la presa de decisions i els buits institucionals sobre la internacionalització accelerada. Així mateix, els investigadors argumenten que aquest és un fenomen complex i per tant, hauria d'analitzar-se identificant les relacions complexes que puguen existir entre les variables. No obstant això, pel que sembla, cap estudi ha explorat aquesta complexa interacció i la connexió que existeix entre aquests factors. En conseqüència, diversos estudis aconsellen aprofundir en la investigació sobre els efectes que poden tindre aquestes variables sobre la internacionalització accelerada de les Pimes. Addicionalment, han suggerit incorporar l'efectuació i els buits institucionals com a variables que poden contribuir a aclarir aquestes discrepàncies. Sobre aquest assumpte, els investigadors adverteixen que l'efectuació i la internacionalització, és un camp científic emergent que manca de claredat conceptual. Estudis recents també aconsellen que la investigació vaja més enllà de les xarxes internacionals per a explorar el paper de les xarxes locals sobre la internacionalització accelerada. Finalment, hi ha hagut diverses demandes per a avançar en la investigació sobre Amèrica Llatina, que és una regió que generalment s'ha desatès en la investigació existent. Conseqüentment, aquesta tesi té com a objectiu desenvolupar la investigació sota tres metodologies diferents: Primer, a través d'una anàlisi bibliomètrica que permet contribuir amb la classificació de la literatura, la identificació de l'estructura i les tendències de la investigació sobre l'efectuació i la internacionalització de les Pimes. En segon lloc, a través d'una Anàlisi Qualitativa Comparativa (*fsQCA per les seues sigles en anglés) que contribueix a identificar les condicions causals que afavoreixen la internacionalització accelerada de 33 casos contraris (21 de Colòmbia i 12 del Perú) de Pimes localitzades en contextos amb buits institucionals. El resultat d'aquest estudi demostra que la combinació de xarxes locals amb llaços febles i la lògica de l'efectuació, contribueixen amb la internacionalització accelerada de les Pimes que tenen menors limitacions en els seus recursos. En contrast, les xarxes locals amb llaços forts i la lògica de causació, assisteixen la internacionalització accelerada de les Pimes que tenen una major limitació en els seus recursos. Sobre la base d'aquests resultats, es desenvolupa un model integrador que vincula les configuracions causals que permeten obtindre una internacionalització accelerada. Finalment, a través d'una regressió logística ordenada de 2.987 Pimes de l'Argentina, Colòmbia i el Perú, s'examinen els micro-mecanismes que connecten els buits institucionals, les xarxes efectuals, el tipus de relació amb les xarxes de contacte i la localització amb la internacionalització accelerada de les Pimes de Llatinoamèrica. Els resultats demostren que els alts nivells de buits institucionals, les xarxes efectuals, les xarxes locals de llaços forts i localitzar-se en l'àrea rural, augmenten la probabilitat d'una internacionalització accelerada. A més, la investigació evidencia que existeix un efecte d'interacció forta i robusta entre les xarxes locals de llaços forts i els alts nivells de buits institucionals sobre la internacionalització accelerada. Aquest mateix efecte d'interacció es dona entre les xarxes locals de llaços forts i les xarxes efectuals i les xarxes locals de llaços forts amb la localització en àrees rural. Basats en aquests resultats, es proposa un model conceptual. / Gil Barragán, JM. (2020). Effectuation, domestic network strength, institutional voids and accelerated internationalization: Evidence from Latin American SMEs [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/152489 / TESIS