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- Wictor, Ingemar
(författare)
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Born Globals : Rapid International Growth in New Ventures
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The traditional theories developed by Johanson and Vahlne (1977, 1990) and other researchers ofinternationalisation have long been questioned because of the fast-changing environment and deregulations. In particular, for Born Global firms, namely a company that has achieved a foreign sales volume of at least 25% within three years of its inception and that seeks to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and the sales of outputs in multiple countries (Andersson and Wictor, 2003, p. 254), itis a question of surviving by establishing in many markets in a short period of time.This thesis summarises five papers. Paper 1 showed that the CEO´s perception and the fast changing environment push small firms to internationalise and that younger CEOs have an important role in expanding the firm. This is often because of their experiences accumulated inthe organisation over time or because the entrepreneur has been exposed to the international arena and information technologies, which can explain why some small firms continue to expandtheir international activities.The conceptual framework in paper 2 comprises four factors that influence Born Global firms:entrepreneurs, networks, industry and globalisation. To succeed in establishing a global firm it isimportant to have certain resources, such as an entrepreneur with international experience and strong networks. A Born Global entrepreneur is distinguished by his interest and motivation todo business abroad and his vision for the future.Paper 3 focuses on the importance of Born Globals’ foreign market channel strategies. The decision to establish a new market is of great importance for the long-term survival of the company. In this comparative case study, four companies that display different foreign entrymodes are compared. We found that these companies had very different market channel strategies even though they internationalised rapidly.Paper 4 is a study of four companies that indicates that their CEOs are active and involved in making strategic decisions in all parts of a Born Global firm’s value chain activities. Decisions on localisation and outsourcing are influenced by the entrepreneur’s definition of his firm’s core competencies. However, factors outside the firm are also an influence: potential suppliers,outsourcing of manufacturing and potential partners in distribution, especially relating to the riseof new emerging markets (e.g. China). The importance of coordinating value chain activities also influences the localisation of different activities. Entrepreneurs aim to arrange value-creating networks to secure their core manufacturing processes and close relations with local suppliers when they outsource products. In such a case, the entrepreneur can be seen as an orchestrator ina virtual organisation. The ‘global factory’ concept can be adjusted to fit locally for a Born Global company and its environment. Paper 5 focuses on a Born Global company’s way to grow and is a longitudinal study of acompany over 17 years (1990–2007) and its development in the different stages in the growth/life-cycle curve. From inception, the vision is already strong to go global. During thea bove period, the founder, external CEO I and CEO II were interviewed to assess whatcharacterises the different stages of growth over time compared with the growth/life-cycle model of Smallbone and Wyer (2006). The company is still growing and very entrepreneurial. The leadership has changed from a deciding style to a more coaching way of leading. Themanagement and organisation have changed to be more professionalised and team-oriented over8time. Entrepreneurial teams have also become more and more important for transferring knowledge to individuals in the organisation.The traditional models of Johanson and Vahlne (1977, 1990) point out that learning at an organisational level is a main factor in international development over time. However, a way to speed up the development of Born Global firms is entrepreneurial background with long experience and different knowledge serving his vision for the company. Nevertheless, theknowledge transfer from the entrepreneur and his team to the organisation is important. Knight and Cavusgil (2004, p. 137) find that “Born Globals pose an important new challenge to traditional views on the internationalization of the firm”.Johanson and Vahlne (2003) study what happens in companies because of rapid changes in the environment. They suggest that the Uppsala model is still valid, but that the early stage of a firm’sinternationalisation is important to study. Organisational learning is carried out at an individual and an entrepreneurial level. Johanson and Vahlne (1977) focus on the importance of the people working in a market and their learning. In their latest published article by Schweizer et al. (2010,pp. 368–369), they argue that “it is the liability of outsidership rather than the liability offoreignness that gives rise to internationalization difficulties. Outsidership implies that the firm isnot a member of relevant networks. Internationalization can be seen then as taking steps tobecome an insider in relevant networks in focal foreign markets … In their last study it emphasizes the entrepreneurial facets of a firm’s internationalization process”. The above defined background of the entrepreneur, his entrepreneurial way of working and his experience from former jobs also means that he already has the networks necessary for international expansion.The entrepreneur and his team in a Born Global company must from the beginning have the capability and knowledge of the environment and market in a country to establish in the new market as well as the understanding of how to manage the company and organisation. If they do not have this knowledge, they must have a network from which to extract this information. The entrepreneur has to be strongly involved in building and sustaining relationships with both customers and suppliers. In the organisation, he also has to build a powerful culture with decentralisation and empowered employees. The leadership in these companies is charismatic,employees are empowered in their jobs and the teams are entrepreneurial. Employees are therefore also allowed to make their own decisions within certain limits. Networks are important to overcome “perceived barriers on cultural and regulatory issues, those associated with locating partners, plus other matters deemed important to specific management teams” (Crick, 2009, p. 466). Coviello and Cox (2006) find that a company’s network is aresource when it is working with acquisitions and important recruitments. For companies growing over many years such as the Rubber Company studied herein, networks change and the chairman’s networks can be of great importance when core individuals should be recruited as an important part of the company’s strategies.
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| 2. |
- Lindh, Cecilia, 1974-
(författare)
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Business Relationships and Integration of Information Technology
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- It is a well-established view that, over time, companies in a business-to-business setting develop long-lasting business relationships. The business relationship between two companies involves a wide range of exchanges on products, technical and economic issues. It also has a social content as it engages people in both companies. Business relationships are, therefore, argued to be founded on a varying extent of exchanges and content of behaviour. This thesis deals with the current and complex issue of the integration of information technology in such business relationships.Integration in this thesis refers to when information technology is purposefully used and inseparable from the business relationship. A special standardized questionnaire was used to collect extensive empirical data on 353 business relationships between suppliers and one of their important customers. The results of the analysis of the data in the thesis show that high information technology integration, in terms of exchanges and behaviour, increases the efficiency of information exchanges in business relationships. Integration is also connected to the importance of business relationships for the development of information technology and increases a company’s knowledge on this technology. Furthermore, the results show that what is fundamental for the integration of information technology is its combination with the strength of the business relationship. Thereby, the integration of information technology has a wider impact on business relationships than simply facilitating higher efficiency under certain circumstances. It affects the general competence in using information technology, and allows new opportunities for the business relationship and the companies.Through its rich empirical content, theoretical approach and proximity to current business situations, this thesis is of interest to researchers and students who wish to understand the employment of information technology in business relationships, or for business professionals who want to further understand their situation regarding information technology in order to make decisions about further employment.
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| 3. |
- Holtström, Johan, 1968-
(författare)
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Synergi? : En studie av några industriföretag
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Synergi är viktigt i samband med fusioner och förvärv. Utgångspunkten är att synergi, i både teori och praktik, används för att skapa olika typer av mervärden. Fusioner och förvärv är frekvent förekommande i företagande och det är många olika aktörer som berörs av sådana förändringar, t.ex. anställda, företagsledningar och ägare. Företagsintegrationer kan antas påverka de företag som är involverade i fusionen eller förvärvet. Även andra aktörer som kunder och leverantörer kan komma att påverkas av den förändring som en fusion eller ett förvärv innebär. Det finns därför skäl att studera förhållandet mellan skapande av synergi och företagsintegrationer.Avhandlingens inriktning är att i vid bemärkelse studera synergibegreppet för att ytterligare öka förståelsen av synergi, både inom ett företag samt i företagets affärsnätverk. Syftet med avhandlingen är att utveckla hur synergi kan realiseras inom företaget och i affärsrelationer till kunder och leverantörer i samband med fusioner och förvärv.Baserat på fusioner och förvärv bland industriföretag analyseras i avhandlingens första del hur och om synergi kan realiseras inom ett integrerande företag. Ett resultat av studien är att synergi inom ett företag sammanfattningsvis kan sägas vara ett resultat av ett samspel mellan skapande av mervärden, samstämmighet mellan strategiska prioriteringar och funktionellt genomförande. Synergi inom ett företag kan sägas vara något som en företagsledning planerar med avsikt att genomföra. Företaget är i centrum och avsikten är att förändra och påverka omgivningen för anpassning till de nya förutsättningar som finns. I en sådan miljö finns andra aktörer, som kunder och leverantörer. Det finns därför ett intresse att också studera hur och om synergi i en affärsrelation kan uppstå.Synergi i ett fusionerande eller förvärvande företags affärsnätverk är en breddning av synergibegreppet till att också omfatta relationen mellan företag. Avhandlingens andra del studerar detta. Det är viktigt att ha ett vidare perspektiv på vad en förändring får för konsekvens i skapande av synergi i ett integrerande företags relation till andra aktörer, som kunder och leverantörer. Synergi i relation kan uttryckas som det samlade resultatet av hur aktörerna anpassar sig till förändringar, hur förändringen påverkar beroendeförhållanden, i vilken utsträckning det sker en koordinering av aktiviteter och hur detta sker i interaktion över tiden.Avhandlingen kombinerar också de två perspektiven på synergi i förhållande till utvecklingen över tiden. Inom det integrerande företaget kan synergi framstå som planerad i integrationens tidiga faser eller ske framväxande över tiden. I det integrerande företagets relation till andra aktörer kan synergi i relation förekomma genom påverkan i integrationens tidiga faser. Det är något som de integrerande bolagen planerar att genomföra i relation till andra aktörer. Synergi i relation kan över tiden ske i interaktion mellan affärsnätverkets aktörer. Synergi genom interaktion handlar om att det integrerande företaget initierar en förändring genom sammanslagningen och de olika aktörerna anpassar sig över tiden till de förändringar som sker. Anpassning är inte en passivitet utan ett uttryck för både aktion och reaktion.Avslutningsvis diskuteras praktiska implikationer av studien. Vid fusioner och förvärv kan det vara av intresse att beakta vad de integrerande företagens agerande får för konsekvenser i relation till andra aktörer samtidigt som den egna verksamheten utreds. Processmedvetenhet innebär att en kedja av aktiviteter startas och att det kan få betydelse för vilket resultat förändringen får över tiden. Stabilitet och beroenden mellan aktörerna påverkas genom de fusioner och förvärv som sker. Fusioner och förvärv kan fungera som drivkraft för att skapa tillväxt hos andra aktörer. Den operativa verksamheten hos andra aktörer kan också påverkas genom de förändringar som sker i en fusion eller ett förvärv.
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