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- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Analyzing Capabilities which Born Global Firms Develop and Implement for their International Growth
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to investigate how born global firms co-operate with local and international network actors to provide innovations for international growth, Consequently, born globals’ use of their own innovation capabilities, stemming from firm-specific advantages, and their access to complementary resources and activities of their network partners, termed here as network capabilities, are analyzed to aid our understanding of the provision of innovative solutions that lead to firms’ international growth. The paper opted for an exploratory study, using a qualitative case study approach of five born global companies. Focus groups, work-shops and interviews with the entrepreneur-CEOs in the companies are used to gain deep insight into innovation and internationalization processes that underlie the case companies’ international growth. The study shows that the entrepreneur-CEOs’ networking and innovation capabilities, have been crucial for the born global firms international growth. A high responsiveness to changes in the environment and incremental rather than radical innovation characterize the firms’ growth. A fruitful relationship between the Born Globals and other actors is crucial for them to be able to get access to resources, which can complement their own to create innovative solutions that will lead to growth.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Born Global's Use Of Innovative Solutions To Create Sustainable Competitive Advantages As It Expands And Grows In Different International Markets
- 2013
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to investigate born global firms’ use of innovative solutions and their networks to create sustainable competitive advantages as they expand and grow in different international markets. Consequently, born globals’ use of their own firm-specific advantages and their access to complementary resources and activities of their network partners are analyzed to aid our understanding of the provision of innovative solutions that lead to growth. We use a qualitative case study approach of five born global companies. A focus group interview with the CEOs in the companies is used to gain deep insight into innovation and internationalization processes that underlie the case companies’ international growth. The study shows that the use of the entrepreneur-CEOs’ personal networks and business networks have been assets that have accorded the firms’ strong position in international markets. It can be concluded that the born global firm has strategies to tap on complementary assets of external network parties.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Born global's use of innovative solutions to create sustainable competitive advantages as it expands and grows in different international markets
- 2013
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Ingår i: The 16th Annual McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference: Researching New Frontiers. - Montreal, Canada : McGill University. ; , s. 16-16
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to investigate born global firms’ use of innovative solutions and their networks to create sustainable competitive advantages as they expand and grow in different international markets. Consequently, born globals’ use of their own firm-specific advantages and their access to complementary resources and activities of their network partners are analyzed to aid our understanding of the provision of innovative solutions that lead to growth. For this purpose we use a qualitative case study approach of five born global companies. A focus group approach with the CEOs in the companies is used to gain deep insight into innovation and internationalization processes that underlie the case companies’ international growth. The study shows that the use of the entrepreneur-CEOs’ personal networks and business networks have been assets that have accorded the firms’ strong position in international markets. It can be concluded that the born global firm has strategies to tap on complementary assets of external network parties. The Born global firms learn from own experiences and those of others, with whom the firms interact in foreign markets, to create innovative solutions for international growth.
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Building Brand Personality in a Business-to-Business Context – the Case of Born Globals
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Branding has for a long time been in focus in strategic decision making for firms in a business-to-consumer context. Brands has been used as a tool to differentiate products and position firms’ offers towards competitors. In a business-to business context branding has not been in focus in the same way. Strategic decisions have more dealt with technology innovation and market expansions. In recent times, a greater interest for brand building in a business to business (B2B) context has emerged, both in practice and academia, especially for globally active B2B firms that strive to create a unified look of their products and firms. The hard global competition has made it difficult to compete on product quality alone, services around the product and intangible features has been important parts of B2B firms’ offers. The B2B firms’ more complex offers can be incorporated under a common brand that differentiates the firms’ offer from competitors. Although that the practical importance of B2B branding has been acknowledge lately, research dealing with B2B branding is still relatively limited. Most studies on B2B branding attempt to describe what brands are, how they affect companies, or vice versa. Research on the process of B2B brand building is however scarce. Also, when B2B brands are in focus of a study, it is usually their tangible characteristics that are examined. In B2C brand literature, intangible aspects and, the metaphor to see the brand as a person is widely discussed (Aaker, 1997). However, there is very little research on brand as a person element in the B2B context. Brand personality is normally defined as the human characteristics associated with a brand, More research into the brand personality building processes in a B2B context are therefore needed. Following the above discussion this study’s aim is to investigate how brand personality is built in B2B companies.A qualitative approach has been adopted to enable us to investigate, in-depth, an under-researched area (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010; and Yin, 1989) The key factor underpinning the selection of the two cases was conceptual relevance rather than representative grounds, so we used theoretical sampling (Miles and Huberman 1994). We combined secondary data research and field interviews and workshops with the CEOs in the case firms. The researchers constructed an interview-guide based on earlier literature and discussion in a workshop. Our aim and research question served as the basic structure for data analysis. The study contributes to the literature by integrating theory on brand building from the marketing fields with the research dealing with the born global phenomenon discussed in the international entrepreneurship field.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Customer Value Creation in Mature Born Globals
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTIONResearch on firms that already from their inception see the whole world as a market and/or the whole world as a source to access resources, so called born globals (Andersson & Wictor, 2003, Knight & Cavusgil, 2004; Cavusgil & Knight, 2015), has been growing during the last decades (Servantie, 2016). Born globals are an especially interesting group of firms to study, in regard of value creation, as they have been able to create competitive offers fulfilling the needs of customers on global markets. The distinguishing feature of born globals is their international behaviour at birth and soon thereafter. The firms’ behaviour is initiated by the entrepreneurs’ and management’s global mindset and the commitment of resources leading to international growth (Andersson, 2000; Knight & Causgil, 2004). Born globals is, by definition, a born global firm “forever”, as has been characterized by their early years. We argue that the early years make these firms a special type of firms that will influence their further international development. Firms with a long-term focus on the domestic market must unlearn routines rooted in the domestic context before new, internationally oriented routines can be learned. An early entrance to international markets forces born globals to adopt to new contexts and create new knowledge that leads to new routines and creates a culture in the firms to adapt to new international opportunities (Andersson & Evers, 2015; Autio et al ., 2000, Cavusgil & Knight, 2004).There has been extensive research on born globals’ internationalization dealing with which markets, and market channels firms should choose to grow internationally. There has also been extensive research dealing with antecedents and factors influencing these choices. The focus on born global research has also been on the very early stages in the internationalization process. Few studies have captured the long-term behaviour and growth of born globals (2008; Gabrielsson and Gabrielsson, 2013, Melen Hånell, Nordman and Sharma, 2014). A question that has been very little addressed is: what happens to born global firms when they grow up (Cavusgil & Knight, 2015)? In this study we define this grown up born global firms as mature born globals (c. f. Hagen & Zuchella, 2014, maturing born global firms). To succeed with a continued international expansion, the born global firms need to increase sales on international markets. The underlying reason for success on international markets and continuous growth is that the mature born global firms have an offer that gives higher value to the customer than their competitors. However customer value is not explicitly treated in internationalization theories (Axinn & Matthyssen, 2002). To our knowledge there has not been any research that has, in- depth, explored how mature born globals create value for customers to create international growth. In line with the above discussion, the aim of this study is to investigate how mature born global firms create value for customers to create international growth.METHODA qualitative approach has been adopted to enable us to investigate, in-depth, an under-researched area (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010; and Yin, 1989) “how born global firms create value for customers to create international growth”. In all, the study was conducted with five companies. The key factor underpinning the selection of the five cases was conceptual relevance rather than representative grounds, so we used theoretical sampling (Miles and Huberman 1994). We conducted a review of annual reports, other secondary documentation, and the websites of the case firms. We combined secondary data research and field interviews and workshops with the CEOs in the case firms. The researchers constructed an interview-guide based on earlier literature and discussion on a works-shop. Interviews were carried out with the five CEOs and transcribed. Data analysis included several steps. The information from the interviews, and other sources served as descriptive narratives, which helped us process the large volume of data (Mintzberg and McHugh 1985). This process enabled the unique patterns of each case to emerge before cross-case comparison (Eisenhardt 1989; Yin 1994) was undertaken. Our aim and research question served as the basic structure for data analysis.CONCLUSIONSWe conclude that a strong focus on customer value creation was in focus. To create customer value a combination of proactive and reactive market orientation was implemented built on a competitive offer that was hard to replicate. Depending on the characteristics of the buyer-seller relationship different tools were used to build relationship value. The revenue earned is invested in further international growth, by investing in market driving activities, and entrepreneurial alertness to act on upcoming opportunities was crucial. This study contributes to the international entrepreneurship field by explicitly including marketing literature and empirically investigating how value is created to achieve international growth in born globals. This study also contributes to the industrial marketing field by developing a model that shows how born global firms create value for international customers to generate international growth in a B2B context.
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| 7. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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How do mature born globals create customer value to achieve international growth?
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Marketing Review. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0265-1335 .- 1758-6763. ; 37:2, s. 185-211
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – This study aims to investigate how mature born global firms create value for customers to achieve continued international growth.Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a case study approach to investigate the underresearched area of how mature born globals create value for customers and, by doing so, contribute to their continued international growth. This in-depth examination of how three born globals developed over time uses interviews, observation and secondary data.Findings – The findings indicate that the entrepreneurs of born global firms, that continued to grow, created a culture in the early stages that supported value creation for foreign customers. These firms have built a competitive position by developing international niche products. They have also implemented a combination of proactive and reactive market orientation to facilitate the creation and delivery of value to customers. To maintain growth, they further invest the revenues earned on additional international marketing activities and continuously enhance their focal products.Research limitations/implications – The study relies on three cases. We therefore recommend that future studies extend the scope of the research to several companies in various industries and countries, in which the theoretical arguments can be applied. In addition, further studies that test the propositions developed in this study, in different contexts, are highly recommended.Practical implications – To gain international growth, managers should create an organizational culture that facilitates satisfying international customer needs. Firms should continuously invest in sales and market development (e.g. social media marketing, personal selling) and undertake technology development of niche rather than new products. To achieve international growth, managers need to standardize part of the offer to achieve economies of scale and adapt the other part to international customers’ needs.Originality/value – Research on born globals has focused on the early stages of their internationalization processes, while largely neglecting the later stages (mature born globals) or the factors that lead to continued international growth. To address this gap, this study explores what happens when born globals ‘grow up’. This study contributes to the literature by capturing the factors and processes underlying how mature born globals create value for customers, for international growth. In particular, the study shows that the culture and strategies developed in the born globals’ early stages also lead to international growth in later stages. The mature born globals have also invested in niche products, brand building, and effective market channels and adopted a combination of proactive and reactive market orientations.
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| 8. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Innovation in Internationalization of Born Global firms
- 2012
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Ingår i: 15th McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globalization and increased liberalization of markets have made it possible for many firms, large or Small and Medium –Sized Firms (SMEs), to be in many foreign markets, especially those in the global industries (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2007; Doole and Lowe, 2008, 2004). Since trade barriers among markets have fallen dramatically, due to the effects of globalization, intense competition in many markets, and the spread of technological improvements in almost all sectors of any economy, many firms (small or large) seek to establish their presence in many foreign markets (Awuah, et. al., 2011; Doole and Lowe, 2008; Driffield and Love, 2007). Studies abound to shed light on why and how firms internationalize their business activities (Andersson, 2011; Moen, et al., 2004; Knight and Cavusgil, 1996; Johanson and Vahlne, 1990, 1977; Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975). Although increased globalization, trade liberalization, and technological improvements do enable many firms (e.g. “Mininationals” or “Born Globals”) to serve several markets (Doole and Lowe, 2008; Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2007), there has emerged an intense competition among firms in all countries (Peng et al., 2008; Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2007; Beamish and Lu, 2004). For many SMEs, a number of factors (e.g. lower trade barriers, increased competition, rapid technological developments, shrinking market opportunities in domestic market, and firm-specific advantages combine to drive their rapid entry into foreign markets (Andersson, 2011; Peng et al., 2008; Moen, et al., 2004). SMEs that have, from the very inception of their establishment, had the drive to internationalize their business activities are termed “Born Global Firms”, in the subsequent sections to be addressed just as born globals (Andersson, 2011; Rialp et al., 2005; Knight and Cavusgil, 1996; Madsen and Servias, 1997). Previous studies about a firm’s internationalization has predominantly concentrated on big multinational firms, where their motives for internationalization, the pace and pattern of their internationalization have been widely studied (Qian and Delios, 2008; Johanson and Vahlne, 1990, 1977; Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975; Cavusgil, 1984; Coviello, 2006). In recent times studies have emerged, which have found out that the pace and pattern of the internationalization of big multinational firms are not in line with the pace and pattern, through which born globals, for example, internationalize their business activities (Andersson, 2011; Andersson and Wictor, 2003; Moen, et al., 2004; Rialp, et. al., 2005; Knight and Cavusgil, 1996; Madsen and Servais, 1997). However, extant literature is virtually silent on what it takes for a born global (a small international player with limited resources, for example) to compete with big and resourceful multinational enterprises in many international markets. Our contention is that born globals’ ability to use innovative solutions to create sustainable competitive advantages as they aspire to expand and grow in international markets will be very crucial. The pace and pattern at which born globals internationalize their businesses, in the face of intense competition in almost all markets, in order to provide innovative solutions that enable them to achieve competitive advantages in the marketplace is under-researched. This has been an important reason for the study of the present phenomenon. As stressed by Doole and Lowe (2008), products and services offered by firms, these days, are becoming ‘commodities’ (i.e. ‘me too’ products/services), if firms are not able to differentiate the core product benefit or service by offering a bundle of benefits for target customers or users in a target market. For Porter (1985), the competitive advantage of a firm grows fundamentally out of the value the firm can create for its customers, irrespective of the markets in which a firm operates. Operating across borders, though offers opportunities, dealing with new set of macro-environmental factors (e.g. politics, laws, economics, cultures, and societies) and intense competition, will demand that a born global, for example, differentiates its products and services that will help it to meet similar needs and wants of its transnational customers, while it adapts to meet different market-specific requirements and/or needs of customers (e.g. Doole and Lowe, 2008). And for Doyle and Stern (2006), a firm that is good at satisfying customer needs, better than its competitors can do, has the best opportunities to grow and expand. Hence, Born Globals and their growth and expansion narratives are worth studying.In view of the above, the purpose of the present study is to investigate a born global’s use of innovative solutions to create sustainable competitive advantages as it expands and grows in different international markets. To be able to achieve the above purpose, we seek to address the following research questions:Why and how does a born global firm enter any chosen foreign market?Which strategies does the firm develop and implement in order to provide innovative solutions that will help achieve sustainable competitive advantages as the firm strives to grow and expand in the marketplace?Does the firm use ‘go-alone’ strategies or does it use strategies that influence and are influenced by other actors and the effect thereof?
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