Purpose – The purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of internationalization among born global companies. In order to fulfil the purpose, three foreign market entries were investigated at a Swedish born global that offers digital streaming services for audiobooks. Method – We conducted a qualitative single case study with a grounded theory approach. The main data was collected through 22 interviews and 13 documents. The data analysis was two-folded; 1) content analysis for charting the market entries, and 2) thematic analysis for identifying challenges and how to address these. Findings – Our findings is divided into three parts. First, we present five challenges that born global companies might experience when they enter new foreign markets. These five challenges are sorted as primary; 1) lack of networks, 2) new-to-the-world, and 3) lack of partnerships, and secondary; 4) lack of market-specific knowledge, and 5) lack of support. Second, we provide eight actions that can be addressed to either one or more of the five challenges. The two actions that are most significant, i.e. can address the most challenges are; 1) utilize established investor, and 2) hire local and experienced employee on-site. Finally, the two research questions are compiled into a roadmap that provides a start-to-end guide for how conquer challenges for internationalization. Theoretical and practical implications – This study contributes to current internationalization literature by extending the view of born globals’ internationalization process. More specifically, it provides knowledge about possible challenges and how to address them, which previous literature has not explored. We believe that born globals can use the developed roadmap to increase their success rate. We also believe that the newly identified challenges can be used as a complement to the already explored success factors, in order to provide managers at born globals with a more holistic view of how to succeed with their internationalization journey.

Purpose The aim of this study is to explore, describe and analyze how service firms overcome barriers of internationalization at an early stage. Thus, this study is aiming to increase a better understanding of what kind of preconditions these firms have in the very early stages of internationalization. Methodology This research has been based on qualitative case study and abductive approach. We wanted to pursue this research strategy since we were aiming to receive an in-depth understanding of service firms’ early internationalization process. A delimitation we further have applied in this study is a focus only on early entry to Norwegian market and on Swedish consulting firms. These delimitations have been based mainly on the fact that it would be easier to compare the results from the empirical data. We have furthermore conducting a total of 5 interviews with 6 interviewees. Three of these have been with our chosen case companies and the other two have been with two external actors with profound knowledge about the Norwegian market.   Conclusions In our conclusions, we have identified the main characteristics of barriers in an early internationalization stage for service firms and enablers to overcome these barriers. The three key enablers are networks and relationships, international entrepreneurship and presence at the foreign market.

Over the years, internationalization has seen significant shifts, especially in the financial industry where fintech firms blending technology and finance have sparked a revolution. Sweden has emerged as one of the global leaders in this sector. However, despite this transformation, existing studies on the internationalization process of fintech firms lack context and industry-specific insights, indicating a pressing need for further research in this area. Therefore, this thesis investigates the intricate internationalization process of small Swedish fintech firms with a digital and technological foundation. We aim to uncover the motives and patterns driving their early international expansion process. By conducting an in-depth case study of a single Swedish fintech firm, utilizing semi-structured interviews with employees with different positions as well as secondary data, this methodological approach allowed us to reveal new insights. More specifically, our research contributed to an identification of three distinct stages in the internationalization process: (1) motives centered on the product, prompting swift digital export strategies, (2) motives focused on the customer, leading to a shift from broad to deep engagement through localization and (3) motives based on strategic resources, guiding a measured expansion in markets optimized for regulatory conditions. These stages are shaped by entrepreneurial vision and national support, highlighting a dynamic and iterative process of international growth as well as a temporal aspect of the process development throughout these stages. In theory, this thesis expands comprehension and questions the idea of a one-size-fits-all internationalization strategy for fintech companies. It demonstrates that Swedish fintech firms employ a hybrid approach, integrating early internationalization with gradual methods. In practice, the research furnishes valuable perspectives for fintech executives, investors and policymakers, presenting a strategic model to enhance internationalization strategies, evaluate risks and facilitate regulatory adaptations. These contributions enrich discussions in fintech literature, potentially aiding fintech enterprises, both in Sweden and globally, in effectively planning their internationalization endeavors.

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.

L'augmentation du nombre des entreprises qui s'internationalisent très tôt après leur création au travers d’un processus accéléré a attiré l'attention des chercheurs au cours des deux dernières décennies. Plusieurs explications souvent partielles ont été avancées par les chercheurs sur les raisons de l'internationalisation précoce des entreprises « nées globales ». Différents auteurs suggèrent que l'approche réseau serait plus appropriée pour décrire ce phénomène précoce de ces petites entreprises. L'objectif de notre recherche est d'étudier l'origine, la structure et le rôle des réseaux sociaux dans l'internationalisation précoce des entreprises nées globales.Nous étudierons la structure des réseaux, considérée comme un prérequis pour aborder les autres dimensions du réseau, bien que de nombreux chercheurs soient passés directement à l'étude du jeu de rôle des réseaux sans prêter attention à l’origine de ces liens. En outre, une grande partie de la littérature a relié les entreprises nées globales au secteur de la haute technologie, alors qu’il existe de nombreux exemples de sociétés mondiales issues de secteurs traditionnels. De la même façon, l’influence des divers contextes nationaux sur le processus d'internationalisation des entreprises est peu connue. Par conséquent, nous nous intéresserons également aux liens du réseau dans le cadre de plusieurs secteurs industriels d’une part, et aux différents niveaux de développement institutionnel du pays en comparant des firmes nées globales françaises et pakistanaises d’autre part.Nos résultats révèlent que es petites entreprises nées globales utilisent leurs réseaux pour surmonter les obstacles liés à l'internationalisation rapide, ce que les précédents résultats empiriques avaient pris en compte. Ils soutiennent également que l'origine des réseaux se trouve dans deux paramètres relatifs aux relations affaires et sociales ou hors activités affaires. Des liens, à la fois faibles et forts, ont un impact positif sur l'internationalisation précoce, mais leur composition diffère dans les entreprises de faible technicité et dans celles de haute technologie. Nous soutenons également que la composition des liens est animée par le secteur industriel dans lequel l’entreprise opère plus que par le niveau de développement institutionnel du pays. / 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.

New venture internationalization differs from that of large established firms and is an important research inquiry for international entrepreneurship. In the past 30 years, studies on new venture internationalization have proliferated but with fragmented nature. The first study reviews extant studies regarding conceptual and methodological developments of international new ventures (INVs) through content analysis of 74 influential works. Particularly, this study focuses on the determinants and performance of INVs at the entrepreneur, firm, and environment levels. We then identify significant gaps within this stream of research and suggest future research directions. The second study explores the effect of founding team ethnic composition on a new venture's internationalization strategic choice and then examines the consequent performance implications of INV strategy. A new venture with an ethnically diversified founding team could leverage international experience and network of each of its founders, thereby influencing its recognition of opportunities and access to resources to pursue internationalization strategy. Analyzing longitudinal data of 4,928 new ventures in Kauffman Firm Survey, our empirical results suggest that more immigrant entrepreneurs in a new venture's founding team are more likely to pursue INV strategy while more US citizen entrepreneurs in a founding team will pursue domestic new venture (DNV) strategy. Furthermore, an INV has higher revenues than a DNV but there is no difference in profits between them. The findings suggest that early internationalization is critical to immigrant-started new ventures through revenue growth. The third study explores the survival of ethnic new ventures, particularly testing the roles of INV and ethnic entrepreneurs' immigration status. New ventures are more likely to fail in early years of formation as they face liability of newness and smallness. We found that ethnic new ventures overall have a lower likelihood of survival compared with non-ethnic new ventures. But, ethnic new ventures could increase survival through INV strategy and immigration status. After ethnic entrepreneurs' naturalization, ethnic new ventures could achieve legitimacy, seeking further social capital in host country. Meanwhile, INV strategy could compensate for ethnic new venture's liability of ethnicity in host country. By incorporating diaspora and ethnic entrepreneurship literature, my dissertation focuses on the role of immigrants on early internationalization strategy and the effect of such strategy on performance and survival of their started new ventures, further advancing the understanding of international entrepreneurship. / Business Administration/International Business Administration

Hormis l'intérêt croissant que suscitent l'entrepreneuriat international et l'entrepreneuriat organisationnel comme nouvelles voies de réflexion, la recherche académique dans les deux champs ne semble pas suffisamment insister sur les processus et les dynamiques sous- jacentes de l'internationalisation rapide des PME et de la formation de leurs orientations entrepreneuriales (OE). La présente recherche se donne comme objectif de proposer une compréhension systémique des processus entrepreneuriaux de la PME à internationalisation rapide en plaçant la logique de identification des opportunités d'exportation au cœur de notre réflexion. Le travail s'achèvera par une modélisation qualitative expliquant le phénomène en question.La première partie de cette thèse est consacrée aux fondements théoriques de la recherche, abordant les concepts clés de notre cadre conceptuel. La deuxième partie aborde empiriquement la problématique de la recherche. Après une première analyse de contextualisation, sont présentés et analysés les résultats d'une étude de cas multiples, réalisées au sein de six jeunes PME exportatrices marocaines du secteur agro-industriel.La recherche met en évidence des vecteurs internes (connaissances, expériences et capital social) et des contraintes externes (nature de l'activité et caractéristiques du marché local) comme déterminants de l'internationalisation rapide des PME étudiées. Plus important encore, deux configurations différentes de l'OE sont décrites en relation avec deux logiques distinctes de identification des opportunités d'exportation (une logique de type causale et une autre de type effectuale). / Despite the growing interest in international entrepreneurship and organizational entrepreneurship as new ways of thinking, academic research in both fields does not seem sufficiently emphasize the underlying processes and dynamics of the accelerated internationalization of SMEs and the formation of their entrepreneurial orientation (EO). This research aims to provide a systemic understanding of entrepreneurial processes of the SMEs by placing the logic of determining export opportunities at the heart of our thinking. The work will conclude by a qualitative model explaining the phenomenon in question.The first part of this thesis is devoted to the theoretical foundations of research, addressing key concepts of our conceptual framework. The second part addresses the problem of empirical research. After an initial work of contextualization, are presented and analyzed the results of a multiple case study, conducted in six young Moroccan exporting SMEs in the agro-industrial sector.The research highlights the internal vectors (knowledge, experience and social capital) and external constraints (nature of the activity and the local market characteristics) as determinants of the accelerated internationalization of young SMEs studied. More importantly, two different configurations of the EO dimensions are described in relation with two distinct logics of determining export opportunities (causal logic vs effectuale logic).

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.

En digital Born Global expanderar tidigt efter sitt grundande till nya internationella marknader, trots att en begränsning i erfarenhet och resurser finns i verksamheten. I en internationaliseringskontext varierar marknadsförutsättningarna sett till vilka externa hot eller möjligheter som ställer krav på lokal anpassning av verksamheten och affärsmodellen. Samtidigt agerar digitala Born Globals ofta i intensiva konkurrenslandskap, vilket ställer ytterligare krav på differentiering och utveckling. Affärsmodellsinnovation har möjlighet att bidra med ett resurseffektivt sätt att skapa hållbara konkurrensfördelar för en digital Born Global. Trots det finns ett begränsat antal studier som undersöker hur affärsmodellsinnovation sker inom de kontextuella förutsättningar som en digital Born Global möter i sin internationalisering. Den här studien syftar därför till att undersöka hur förutsättningarna för en digital Born Global i dess internationalisering påverkar dess affärsmodellsinnovation. Studien innefattar en litteraturstudie och en kvalitativ enfallsstudie. I litteraturstudien identifierades ett kunskapsgap mellan teori kring vilka förutsättningar en Born Global möter i sin internationalisering och hur affärsmodellsinnovation utformas inom denna kontext. Empiriska data erhölls från elva semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer som varit involverade i marknadsexpansioner på studiens valda fallföretag. Då empiriska data behandlat aktörer eller händelser utanför fallföretaget har triangulering av data skett med hjälp av externa källor. Studiens resultat visar på att en digital Born Global, på grund av intensiv konkurrens och en upplevd komplexitet i det digitala värdeerbjudandet, genomför affärsmodellsinnovation tidigt efter att marknadsinträden skett. Det skiljer sig från tidigare teorier som menar att innovation av affärsmodellen främst nyttjas i en senare, mer etablerad marknadsfas. Den upplevda komplexiteten som förhindrar kunder och externa nätverksrelationer att förstå värdet i det digitala värdeerbjudandet innebär även att affärsmodellsinnovation främst genomförs inkrementellt utifrån en central grund i affärsmodellen. Det möjliggörs av den skalbarhet som digitala företag ofta innehar. En digital Born Global har även möjlighet att expandera internationellt utan att etablera fysisk närvaro. Trots det påvisar studien att en fysisk närvaro enbart underlättar affärsmodellsinnovation som relaterar till leverantörsdelen av värdekedjan, men inte påverkar innovationer ut mot slutkund. Med en begränsad fysisk närvaro ökar beroendet av ett starkt lokalt nätverk, vilket även avspeglas i utformningen av affärsmodellsinnovationen. Utifrån studiens slutsatser rekommenderas en digital Born Global att genomföra affärsmodellsinnovation utifrån en tydlig definierad central grund av affärsmodellen som sedan byggs på med lokala marknadsanpassningar. Affärsmodellsinnovationen bör även främja utvecklingen av det lokala nätverket så att resurser inom det kan nyttjas.