Introduction: This study conceptualizes and provides a description of 'organizational readiness' from an employee perspective for a start-up to achieve success in their growth journey. Purpose: The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how employees within a start-up experience the growth phase. Method: The study is of a qualitative orientation and is based on collected data from interviews with nine employees from two companies. Results: The results show that employees within start-ups are attracted to the high pace of such companies, and that their motivation lies within the ability to work hard, and be an integral part of the company's decision making processes and journey into the scale-up phase. This is offset by micromanaging and a sense of being disconnected from the companies core structures. Conclusion: Leadership within start-ups plays a vital part in the companies growth, where the entrepreneurial leader may be essential in the start-up phase, but not necessarily in the scale-up phase.

The internet has transformed the way people sell and buy goods and services. E-commerce is a fast-growing industry with low barriers to entry, making it easy to start an e-commerce business – but scaling it is a whole other matter. One common scaling method is international expansion. However, young e-commerce companies often lack strategy and process when expanding internationally. This ad hoc approach results in missed opportunities, waste of resources, and sub-optimal operations for the company. This thesis examines the process of internationalisation for e-commerce companies and what factors contribute to its success, with the aim to provide a model that can guide companies through the whole internationalisation process. Qualitative data has been collected from interviews with experts in the field and a case study of an e-commerce scale-up. Together with a literature review, this data is synthesised into an internationalisation model, built upon the three guiding principles of being customer-centric, iterative, and resource-efficient. The model consists of a series phases, from pre-launch to maturing, with an iterative component that entails a shift of strategy from replication to increased localisation of the business model. Operational results indicate to which degree localisation is necessary. Internationalisation is a complex process, and any detailed model explaining internationalisation quickly becomes complex as well. Therefore, in order to facilitate the practical application of the model for businesses, a conceptual prototype of how the international model could be translated into a digital format is developed and evaluated. As a result, e-commerce firms now have an interactive tool that empowers managers to make more accurate and effective business decisions when it comes to both international expansion strategy and also tactics, due to its action-oriented design. Considering that there is little research that provides explicit advice for young e-commerce firms pursuing internationalisation as a growth strategy, and even less when it comes to the development of a digital business tool, this thesis contributes to filling this research gap. / Internets uppkomst har förändrat hur människor säljer och köper varor och tjänster. E-handel är en snabbväxande bransch med låga inträdesbarriärer, vilket gör det enkelt att starta ett e-handelsföretag – men att skala den är en helt annan fråga. En vanlig tillvägagångssätt för att skala är internationell expansion. Dock saknar ofta unga e-handelsföretag en strategi och process när de expanderar internationellt. Denna ad hoc-strategi resulterar i förlorade möjligheter, resursslöseri och suboptimal verksamhet för företaget. Detta examensarbete undersöker internationaliseringsprocessen för e-handelsföretag och vilka faktorer som bidrar till dess framgång, med syftet att tillhandahålla ett ramverk som kan vägleda företag genom hela internationaliseringsprocessen. Kvalitativ data har samlats in från intervjuer med experter inom området och en fallstudie av ett tillväxtbolag inom ehandeln. Tillsammans med en litteraturstudie syntetiseras dessa data till ett internationaliseringsramverk, som baseras på tre vägledande principerna: att vara kundcentrerad, iterativ och resurseffektiv. Ramverket består av en serie faser, från förlansering till mognad, med en iterativ komponent som innebär ett skift av strategi från replikering till ökad lokalisering av affärsmodellen. Operationella resultat indikerar till vilken grad lokalisering är nödvändig. Internationalisering är en komplex process, och varje detaljerad ram som förklarar internationalisering blir också snabbt komplex. För att underlätta den praktiska tillämpningen av ramverket för företag utvecklas och utvärderas därför en konceptuell prototyp av hur det internationella ramverket skulle kunna översättas till ett digitalt format. Som ett resultat har e-handelsföretag nu ett interaktivt verktyg som ger chefer möjlighet att fatta mer precisa och effektiva affärsbeslut när det gäller både internationell expansionsstrategi och, på grund av prototypens handlingsorienterade utformning, även taktik. Med tanke på att det finns lite forskning som ger explicita råd till unga ehandelsföretag som strävar efter internationalisering som en tillväxtstrategi, och ännu mindre när det kommer till utvecklingen av ett digitalt affärsverktyg, bidrar denna avhandling till att fylla detta forskningsgap.

O empreendedorismo é um fenômeno de abrangência global que tem direcionado a atenção de diversas instituições de ensino, entidades representativas de classe, do terceiro setor e órgãos governamentais, que buscam um melhor entendimento dos fatores que contribuem para o crescimento e desenvolvimento econômico. A ação empreendedora é a mola propulsora responsável pela dinamização da economia, que por meio da introdução de novos produtos e serviços, promove a geração de empregos e a distribuição de renda. Por trás da criação das organizações está a figura do empreendedor, um indivíduo que, partindo de suas ideias e percepções, com criatividade, trabalho árduo e perseverança, administra e assume o risco do resultado de seu empreendimento. No Brasil, das 4,5 milhões de empresas existentes, aproximadamente 1,5%, são responsáveis pela geração de 70% dos postos de trabalho, segundo dados do IBGE. Estas empresas são categorizadas como empresas de alto crescimento ou alto impacto (scale ups), pois apresentam taxas de crescimento acima de 20%. Este estudo objetiva descrever as características de empreendedores que criaram e conduzem empresas de alto impacto, segundo suas próprias percepções. Partindo de uma revisão bibliográfica sobre a importância do empreendedorismo, conceitos e definições, seu impacto no Brasil e no mundo e utilizando-se também de relatórios de órgãos governamentais e instituições apoiadoras e monitoradores da atividade empreendedora, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa de campo, utilizando-se de entrevistas semiestruturadas, aplicadas por meio de videoconferências. Dessa maneira, entrevistou-se um grupo de indivíduos associados a uma organização não governamental, que atua no fomento da atividade empreendedora no Brasil e em diversos países, e que se enquadram nesse perfil empresarial. Os dados obtidos foram tratados mediante o uso da técnica de análise de conteúdo que identificou 18 categorias que envolvem aspectos pessoais e da criação e do desenvolvimento dos negócios. Pode-se inferir que empreendedorismo de alto impacto é o resultado de uma ideia inovadora, desenvolvida e trabalhada com comprometimento de seu idealizador, ofertando um produto ou serviço diferenciado que agrega um valor singular para os seus clientes. / Entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon that coverage has focused the attention of several educational institutions, professional representative bodies, third sector and government agencies that seek a better understanding of the factors that contribute to the economic growth and development. The entrepreneurial action is the driving force responsible for stimulating the economy, through the introduction of new products and services, promotes job creation and income distribution. Behind the creation of organizations is the figure of the entrepreneur, an individual who, from their ideas and perceptions, with creativity, hard work and perseverance, manages and assumes the risk of the outcome of your venture. In Brazil, the 4.5 million existing businesses, approximately 1.5%, are responsible for generating 70% of jobs, according to IBGE data. These companies are categorized as high-growth or high-impact companies (scale ups), because their growth rates above 20%. This study aims to describe the characteristics of entrepreneurs who created and lead high-impact companies, according to their own perceptions. From a literature review on the importance of entrepreneurship, concepts and definitions, its impact on Brazil and the world and also using government agencies reports and supporting institutions and Listeners of entrepreneurial activity, we developed a field research using If semi-structured interviews, applied through videoconferences. Thus, we interviewed a group of individuals associated with a non-governmental organization that acts in fostering entrepreneurial activity in Brazil and in several countries, and that fit this corporate profile. The data were processed by using the content analysis technique identified 18 categories involving personal aspects and the creation and business development. It can be inferred that high-impact entrepreneurship is the result of an innovative idea, developed and worked with commitment of its creator, offering a product or special service that adds a unique value for its customers.

L’intensité concurrentielle et les évolutions technologiques n’ont jamais été aussi intenses. Aussi, les entreprises en quête de pérennité sont-elles de plus en plus confrontées à une nécessité d’exploiter leurs activités actuelles et d’explorer des activités futures. Or la gestion de ce double impératif est loin d’être évidente, générant potentiellement d’importantes tensions au sein des entreprises. Bien que la recherche en management ait permis de mieux appréhender cette tension d’Exploration/Exploitation, il reste des zones de contradiction et des espaces non explorés. En particulier, il n’y a pas de consensus sur les définitions des concepts d’exploration et d’exploitation, ne permettant pas ainsi de garantir une certaine cohérence dans la recherche (Birkinshaw & Gupta, 2013). D’autre part, la tension Exploration/Exploitation n’a que très peu été étudiée dans le contexte des jeunes entreprises de croissance - également appelées « scale-up » - qui ont la particularité d’être exposées à de forts enjeux de survie. Ainsi, afin de contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des problématiques que soulève cette tension au sein de celles-ci, un format de thèse sur travaux, comprenant trois études complémentaires, est adopté.Au préalable, afin de cadrer conceptuellement la thèse, je réponds, dans une première étude, à l’appel des chercheurs pour la clarification des concepts d’exploration et d’exploitation en proposant une typologie d’exploration. Puis, par l’intermédiaire d’une approche multi-cas longitudinale menée auprès de huit jeunes entreprises de croissance, j’explore tout d’abord, dans une deuxième étude, les facteurs influençant les orientations stratégiques des entreprises quant à leurs activités d’exploration et d’exploitation. Enfin, dans la troisième étude, je cherche à comprendre comment le fonctionnement des équipes de direction définit les rôles de chacun dans les activités d’exploration et d’exploitation. / Competition and technological change have never been as intense as they are today. To survive, companies must increasingly carry out current activities at the same time that they explore future ones. It is no easy task to operate on both of these fronts, and doing so is a potential source of tension and contradiction. Although management research has provided insight into the exploration and exploitation tension, there are still contradictions and unexplored areas. In particular, there is no consensus on the definition of the concepts of exploration and exploitation, which means the research lacks a certain level of consistency. In addition, there has been very little attention paid to the Exploration/Exploitation tension in the context of young, growing “scale-up” companies, which are particularly exposed to threats to their survival. To obtain a better understanding of the situations this tension causes in these companies, we have adopted a multi-paper dissertation consisting of three complementary studies.In the first study, to create a conceptual framework for the thesis, we answer researchers’ call for a clarification of the concepts of exploration and exploitation by proposing a typology of exploration. Then, based on a longitudinal, multi-case approach focused on eight scale-up companies, we first explore, in a second study, the factors influencing firms’ strategic orientations vis-à-vis exploration and exploitation activities. Finally, in the third study, we seek to understand how management teams define their individual roles with respect to exploration and exploitation activities.