Critical Success Factors In Born Global Smes Internationalization PDF Download

Background: The term born global was first used in a study of Australian manufacturing firms by Rennie, for McKinsey and Co. in 1993, to describe rapidly internationalizing firms. He noticed that these firms broke with the traditional method of internationalizing by incremental steps. This, in turn, led to the creation of the field of international entrepreneurship. Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to increase the understanding of born globals, and more specifically, the role of the prior experience of the founders, their international networks and their ability to perceive opportunities. Another goal will be to identify key factors related to the success of born global companies. Method: To begin, a rigorous literature review was conducted, identifying recent, scientific articles (published within the past seven to ten years) based on keyword searches including, but not limited to: born global, international new ventures, international entrepreneurship (IE) and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. A multiple case-study approach was taken, conducting semi-structured interviews with the founders of several companies identified as being born global. The interviews were coded and analyzed based on a theoretical framework. Results: The results of this empirical case study conform, for the most part, with prior research in the literature concerning born global enterprises. All of the entrepreneurs surveyed had extensive international backgrounds before forming their companies and all of them relied heavily on their network of international contacts, especially for the identification of opportunities. Implications: In these times of increased globalization and interconnectedness, studies showing how to benefit from these trends could be useful to current and future entrepreneurs, as well as governments and universities. Since it is well known that the drivers of economic progress and the majority of employment are in small to medium-sized enterprises, this research could certainly benefit policy-makers at all levels of government. Limitations and future research: Since the case studies were conducted in a limited area (only in Québec) and within a limited time frame (2014), the results cannot be generalized. As numerous other authors have mentioned, future research should incorporate longitudinal studies to follow the progress of born global firms over time.