The Internationalization of Born Globals : the Swedish case

• Principal TopicBorn Global firms adopt an international approach right from their birth or very shortly thereafter. This behavior challenges the traditional models of internationalization that propose that internationalization is developed in a slow and gradual manner with respect to geographical markets and market entry modes. The “slow and gradual view” of internationalization is very strong in Scandinavia as the creator of one of the most well known models in this area, the Uppsala Internationalization model, is developed in Sweden. The aim of the study is to explore the Born Global phenomena, and to compare it with earlier studies from other nations to further enhance the theory development in this area. Do the already developed framework fit on Swedish Born Globals? Do the framework have to be adopted according to the Swedish environment and culture? Can the general framework be further developed?MethodTo be able to compare our results with earlier studies in the USA, Denmark and Australia the same definitions and methods are used. Born Globals are defined as firms that have reached a share of foreign sales of at least 25% after having started export activities within three years after their birth. Data from a survey is used, followed by qualitative case studies. The database is used to present descriptive statistics and to identify Swedish Born Globals. The case studies are built mainly on personal interviews, but secondary data, such as such as business magazines, annual reports and internal documents have also been used to complement our primary data source. The cases are confronted with each other and with theories used in the framework but also compared with traditional internationalization theory. The framework includes institutional, network, resource-based and entrepreneurship theory.Results and ImplicationsThe results show that, although still a relatively uncommon phenomenon, the ongoing globalization has made it easier for small firms to conduct Born Global strategies. Active entrepreneurs and personal networks were important tools for implementing these strategies. The findings may have implications for practice as well as policy. Maybe can successful behaviors, found in the Born Global firms, be transferred to other firms? Can policy-makers change the firms institutional environment so it will be easier for firms to became Born Globals?

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Born Global firms

Sweden

SOCIAL SCIENCES

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)