| 1. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Business unpredictability, improvisation and business network commitment in small and medium-sized enterprise market entry
- 2022
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In: International Small Business Journal. - : SAGE Publications. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; 40:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Market entry performance is critical during internationalisation; prevailing views suggest that firms need to carefully plan their entry before putting the plan into action. This article focuses on three attributes affecting the possibility and usefulness of making a pre-planned market entry: unpredictability, improvisation and business network commitment. We develop six hypotheses tested on a sample of 250 entries; our main finding is that improvisation plays a mediating role in relation to performance in unpredictable markets. The analysis reveals that the relationship between unpredictability and network commitment is not significant, while the effect of unpredictability on market entry performance is negative. These findings suggest implications for internationalisation and international entrepreneurship theory. For managers and entrepreneurs, we show that unpredictability weakens market entry performance, a negative effect that can be mitigated if the entrant firm improvises.
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| 2. |
- Johanson, Martin, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Knowledge grafting during internationalization : utilizing localized professionals in the foreign market
- 2020
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In: Journal of Knowledge Management. - 1367-3270 .- 1758-7484. ; 24:9, s. 2009-2033
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand knowledge grafting through localized professionals in the internationalization of the firm. Knowledge grafting refers to firms increasing their knowledge stock by acquiring new staff, and while the concept is not new in studies on firms’ internationalization, there is little understanding of the characteristics of the individuals carrying the knowledge, the types of knowledge grafted and how it contributes to a market entry process. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted an explorative study with a multiple-case research design and purposely selected five localized Swedish managers working for Russian subsidiaries of Swedish firms. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed based on three types of knowledge: general foreign market knowledge, social network knowledge and professional knowledge. The authors also considered both private and professional ties. Findings: The findings show that characteristics of the localized professional and the firm can influence the type of knowledge grafted and how it is used. The findings also highlight the key role of the individual as knowledge carrier and show an alternative way to obtain knowledge in firm internationalization. Research limitations/implications: This study comes with limitations. Only Swedish firms entering Russia with wholly owned subsidiaries have been considered. Further studies comparing knowledge grafting with firms in different entry mode, varying stage of market entry, as well as other countries of origin can further enrich our understanding. Future studies can also focus on localized professionals to shed light on the knowledge transfer between them and other individuals within the firms and the potential impact of their departure on knowledge grafting. Practical implications: Internationalizing firms should pay attention to the opportunity of grafting knowledge by appointing localized professionals already living in the market. Governmental agencies in the host county can be a valuable source for identifying foreign nationals of the same origin as the firm. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to focus on the individual level of knowledge grafting and to examine how localized professionals acquire knowledge to support firms in internationalization.
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| 3. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Opportunity novelty, improvisation and network adaptation in the internationalization of Swedish SMEs
- 2021
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In: Thunderbird International Business Review. - : Wiley. - 1096-4762 .- 1520-6874. ; 63:2, s. 201-215
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- By deviating from previous ways of working and improvising new solutions to problems in the internationalization process, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) will increase the likelihood of developing novel international opportunities. In this way, for instance, unforeseen customer demand, rather than following a specific plan, may govern market choice. Such novel opportunities, in turn, are likely to require network adaptation in order for the firm to reach an insidership position in the international business network. By integrating international opportunity theory with theories on improvisational behavior, three hypotheses are developed between the constructs of international opportunity novelty, improvisation, and network adaptation. The hypotheses were tested with Structural Equation Modelling on 258 realized international opportunities developed by Swedish SMEs (European Union definition: number of employees 10–250) and were observed through on‐site visits. It is revealed that improvisation increases the degree of international opportunity novelty as well as the need for network adaptation. The degree of novelty of realized international opportunities positively influences the need for adaptation to a foreign network. Novelty can be seen as a proxy for opportunity's wealth‐creating potential, and developing improvisation capabilities seems to be a way to increase the novelty of international opportunities developed. Managers that are risk averse and therefore refrain from improvisation risk missing valuable novel opportunities.
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| 4. |
- Hilmersson, Mikael, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Serendipitous opportunities, entry strategy and knowledge in firms' foreign market entry
- 2021
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In: International Marketing Review. - 0265-1335 .- 1758-6763. ; 38:3, s. 585-612
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Few researchers and even fewer practitioners would deny that serendipitous events play a central role in the growth process of firms. However, most international marketing models ignore the role of serendipity in the opportunity discovery process. The authors provide a nuanced view on international opportunities by developing the role of serendipitous opportunities in the foreign market entry process. The authors develop a model integrating the notions of serendipity, entrepreneurial logic, experiential knowledge and network knowledge redundancy. From the study’s model, the authors condense three sets of hypotheses on the relationships among experiential knowledge and entry strategy, network knowledge redundancy, entry strategy and serendipity. Design/methodology/approach: The authors confront the study’s hypotheses with data collected on-site at 168 Swedish firms covering 234 opportunities, and to test the hypotheses, the authors ran ordinary least squares (OLS) regression tests in three steps. Findings: The results of the study’s analysis reveal that experiential knowledge and network knowledge redundancy both lead to a logic based on rigid planning and systematic search, which in turn reduces the likelihood that serendipitous opportunities will be realized in the foreign market entry process. Originality/value: This is the first study that develops a measure of opportunities that are the outcome of serendipitous events. In addition, the authors integrate network and learning theories and internationalization theory by establishing antecedents to, and outcomes of, the entry strategy.
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| 5. |
- Presutti, Manuela, et al.
(author)
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Analysing Social Capital and Product Innovativeness in the Relationship Evolution of Born-Global Companies the Mediating Role of Knowledge Acquisition
- 2022
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In: The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1554-7191 .- 1555-1938. ; 18:3, s. 1347-1371
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Relatively little is known about how born-global companies (BGs) innovate abroad during their lifecycle or about how the international innovation activities of BGs are related to their social capital. The network concepts of relational, structural, and cognitive social capital are almost completely neglected in the international business literature on BGs' innovation activities according to a dynamic approach. The aim of this research is to study the direct and indirect effects of structural, cognitive and relational social capital on BGs' product innovation by including the mediating role of market and technological knowledge acquisition. We develop a set of hypotheses that we combine and test in a structural equation model. We provide results with theoretical and practical implications for BGs in terms of both social capital and innovation abroad.
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| 6. |
- Safari, Aswo, et al.
(author)
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Graftee and Grafting in Firm Internationalization
- 2023
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In: Journal of East-West Business. - : Routledge. - 1066-9868 .- 1528-6959.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study focuses on enhancing the understanding of how firm internationalization is triggered by investigating how firms cope with the lack of knowledge and networks when entering a foreign market. More specifically we are interested in answering the following research question: How do firms enter foreign markets without market-specific knowledge and market-specific network insidership? To this end, the present study implements a case study of 12 Swedish firms internationalizing into emerging markets. The study found that firms “graft” expert individuals to help firms penetrate foreign markets where they have no prior history or experience. Further, we observed the qualities of a specific type of actor we refer to as a “graftee” by describing grafting actions and showing how these graftees help firms acquire experiential knowledge and network insidership. Our empirical evidence shows that grafting impacts the form and process of internationalization, sometimes enabling an effectuation-driven market entry while, at other times, enabling a causation-driven process.
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