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Born global firms and accidental internationalists: Has Hennart (2014) opened a can of worms?

Born global firms and accidental internationalists: Has Hennart (2014) opened a can of worms? PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to respond to Hennart’s (2014) challenge to the existing born global literature. In his challenge, Hennart proposes a simpler explanation of why some firms internationalize earlier and more aggressively than others. However, such a parsimonious model of born global firms raises the awkward question of whether born global firms are indeed any different from firms that internationalize more gradually.Design/methodology/approachUsing two extensive surveys of Australian exporters, this paper first explores the degree to which a set of six “facilitating factors” that Hennart puts forward are different across born global and non-born global firms. Next, it tests the second aspect of the debate highlighted above – i.e. whether born global firms behave differently from non-born global firms. This is done by testing for differences in the patterns of early market selection for born global and non-born global firms.FindingsSupport is found for both the role of facilitating factors and for the view that born global firms behave differently from non-born global firms. As a result, it is proposed that the Hennart and the RBV-oriented explanations of born global firms need to be viewed as complementary, rather than competing. Each may represent a necessary but not sufficient condition with respect to born global firms.Originality/valueA systematic testing for differences in facilitating factors and market selection patterns across born global and non-born global firms are both issues that have major implications for the born global literature, and yet have been left largely unexplored to date. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Review of International Business and Strategy Emerald Publishing

Born global firms and accidental internationalists: Has Hennart (2014) opened a can of worms?

Dow, Douglas
Review of International Business and Strategy , Volume 27 (3): 22 – Sep 4, 2017
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
2059-6014
DOI
10.1108/RIBS-02-2017-0012
Publisher site
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Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to respond to Hennart’s (2014) challenge to the existing born global literature. In his challenge, Hennart proposes a simpler explanation of why some firms internationalize earlier and more aggressively than others. However, such a parsimonious model of born global firms raises the awkward question of whether born global firms are indeed any different from firms that internationalize more gradually.Design/methodology/approachUsing two extensive surveys of Australian exporters, this paper first explores the degree to which a set of six “facilitating factors” that Hennart puts forward are different across born global and non-born global firms. Next, it tests the second aspect of the debate highlighted above – i.e. whether born global firms behave differently from non-born global firms. This is done by testing for differences in the patterns of early market selection for born global and non-born global firms.FindingsSupport is found for both the role of facilitating factors and for the view that born global firms behave differently from non-born global firms. As a result, it is proposed that the Hennart and the RBV-oriented explanations of born global firms need to be viewed as complementary, rather than competing. Each may represent a necessary but not sufficient condition with respect to born global firms.Originality/valueA systematic testing for differences in facilitating factors and market selection patterns across born global and non-born global firms are both issues that have major implications for the born global literature, and yet have been left largely unexplored to date.

Journal

Review of International Business and Strategy – Emerald Publishing

Published: Sep 4, 2017

References

  • A generation perspective on small firms’ internationalization: from traditional exporters and flexible specialist to ‘Born globals’
  • Comparing process and born global perspectives in the international growth of technology-based new firms
  • Effects of age at entry, knowledge intensity, and imitability on international growth
  • A latent class analysis of small firms’ internationalization patterns
  • Born again global firms: an extension to the born global phenomenon
  • Explaining born globals: an organisational learning perspective on the internationalisation process
  • The export behaviour of smaller sized Wisconsin manufacturing firms
  • The internationalization of new high-potential US ventures: antecedents and outcomes