Journal of International Entrepreneurship最新文献

This article presents a brief synopsis followed by key concepts and keywords to give the reader an overview of the article. Following a regular Abstract and significant keywords, the “Introduction” section discusses four topics related to, and influential in iSMEs’ global competitiveness and competition. The section on “Further developments” explores the internationalization of artificial intelligence (AI) in general and also examines both the interaction and potential impact of generative AI (GEN.AI) on internationalized SMEs (iSMEs) in particular. In the “Literature review” section, the two critical topics of iSMEs’ openness to, and affordability of AI’s costs, from the perspectives of three entrepreneurship theories—Causation, Effectuation, and Bricolage—are examined. The “Discussion and implications” section follows, and the “Conclusion” section appears at the end.

Dynamic capabilities research has demonstrated that businesses must adapt to changes in order to survive. The COVID-19 pandemic has put firm resilience to the test. The present study uses the dynamic-capabilities theoretical framework to shed light on the determinants of business resilience. Results from a sample of 243 full-time managers and business owners demonstrate that more agile businesses are more likely to be resilient. In addition, environmental hostility positively moderates the relationship between agility and resilience, as it was stronger with a high environmental hostility and weaker with a low environmental hostility. Digitalization also showed a positive relationship with resilience. Likewise, evidence does not support the hypothesis that digitalization moderates the positive relationship between agility and resilience, i.e., that as engagement increases, the relationship becomes stronger, possibly due to the burnout effect of digitalization. Finally, implications and future research opportunities are presented.

Time is often neglected as a factor in international business research. In this paper, objective and subjective perspectives of time are incorporated into the study of speed of a firm's internationalisation process. The concept of speed is defined as the relationship between distance and time, and therefore we propose a theoretical framework that applies these two perspectives of time both to distance and to time, and differentiate between three levels of analysis: individual, organisational, and environmental. Our framework also incorporates two mediating constructs: learning speed and risk perception. Ten hypotheses are proposed that contribute towards a better understanding of the temporal dimension of the internationalisation process.

This article explores the effects of starting up an entrepreneurial innovative start-up on its ensuing life cycle, including internationalization overtime. The nine essential processes of starting up an embryonic young firm will serve as the vitally critical foundations, and enable the firm’ early entrepreneurial analyses of potential opportunities, on which the firm’s further growth, and internationalization, in its five progressive stage of life cycle will depend. An in-depth theoretically and empirically based examination of three families of propositions and their empirical verification through diverse set of case studies (more than eight) point to clear strategic pathways to internationalization and ultimate globalization of the innovative firm from its early entrepreneurial start-up.

The literature demonstrates how Born Globals (BGs) make recourse to distinctive strategic intangible assets to accelerate their internationalisation processes while, nevertheless, broadly neglecting the role of International Entrepreneurial Culture (IEC) in generating and differentiating BGs despite its relevant role. This study examines the IEC as a driver of the early and rapid internationalisation of BGs and correspondingly seeks to capture the prevailing differences compared to non-Born Globals (non-BGs).

Thus, we empirically tested and validated an IEC scale for a sample of 66 BGs and 102 non-BGs and deployed multivariate analysis techniques to identify the main differences among company profiles. The results reveal how BGs stand out from their peers in terms of autonomy (a dimension of the international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO)), international motivation, and international market orientation. Therefore, concentrating on developing these dimensions may return an effective means of boosting rapid and early internationalisation and thereby stand out from the competition. The remaining IEO dimensions, the international learning orientation and the international networking orientation were not relevant to this differentiating process.

This research has important theoretical and practical implications, encouraging and guiding BG managers to adopt a strategic posture emphasising some particular IEC dimensions to differentiate themselves from their competitors and succeed in their early international involvement.

While complex, the synergy between startups and corporations offers a wealth of mutual benefits. This relationship, often viewed as a two-way street, involves not just startups gaining from corporations’ resources but also corporations benefiting from startups’ innovation and agility. The interdependence between startups and corporations, while potentially leading to a power imbalance, also presents an opportunity for both entities to grow. To gain a deep understanding, we asked why, what, and how and then outlined the involved components in the relationship between startups and corporations. We developed a systematic literature review (SLR) in two phases. The first one contemplates the period from 2015 to 2019. The second phase was carried out from 2020 until 2024. We used 71 academic references from the Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) databases. From these references, we constructed an emergent way framework that outlines the main stages of the way, including the motivation and the critical characteristics of collaboration. The framework also brings the most frequently observed relational path through the second phase of the SLR. The paper’s contribution paper is recognizing that each partnership is unique, and the framework is a starting point rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. The stages of the relationship outlined in the framework must be adapted to the specific context of the partnership. In essence, while the framework offers a valuable relational path, the success of corporate partnerships hinges on deciding which aspect these agents must work on to find a better solution in which to assimilate their collaboration.

Social capital constituted of network relationships allows access to resources and opportunities outside the firm. This study aims to explore the relationship between social capital and the internationalization of SMEs along with developing a dimensional measurement model of social capital in this context. The investigation involved primary data collected from Indian SMEs and empirically tested by applying direct relationship test, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. Further, the measurement model has been tested for reliability and validity. Formal network relationships, informal network relationships, and intermediary network relationships are found valid and reliable dimensions of social capital in SMEs, establishing the claim for social capital as a multi-dimensional construct. The study further claimed the existence of a direct and significant relationship between social capital and internationalization of SMEs. The study provides implications for practitioners in setting objectives to take maximum leverage of social capital at both individual and firm levels. These firms can be assisted in devising strategies for growth and expansion by managing their social capital. The study clears ground for further studies to work on constituents of social capital in different contexts.

SMEs (small and medium enterprises) face the challenge of innovation to maintain competitiveness, balancing the exploitation of existing knowledge with the exploration of new avenues. This pursuit of organisational ambidexterity is crucial for SME survival and performance. However, limited research focuses on the antecedents of organisational ambidexterity activities, such as entrepreneurs’ behaviours and abilities. This paper integrates literature on exploration, exploitation, leadership styles, and individual resilience to understand how entrepreneurs shape organisational ambidexterity. Specifically, it explores the impact of leadership styles (i.e. transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire) on organisational ambidexterity and the moderating role of individual resilience. Through hierarchical regression analyses of 140 Italian entrepreneurs, the study finds that transformational leadership style positively influences organisational ambidexterity, and that individual resilience plays an important moderating role both in the case of transformational and transactional leadership styles. The paper emphasises the pivotal role of entrepreneurs as decision-makers in SMEs and investigates their leadership styles and resilience. Overall, the paper contributes to the discussion about the importance of the antecedents of exploration and exploitation activities, answering the call for a more in-depth investigation of the impact of entrepreneurs’ behaviours and abilities.

The knowledge-intensive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems literature is evolving in quantity and popularity in academia. Assuming that the studies on these themes are closely related and are still under development, this research seeks to determine how the intellectual framework of knowledge-intensive innovative entrepreneurship (KIE) is framed. The goal is to map bibliographic production by referring to the knowledge-intensive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. We adopted the bibliometric method of citation and cocitation to analyze scientific publications from 2010 to 2020 in journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database. An exploratory factor analysis identified three clusters by stimulating the creation of new ventures and knowledge flow and sharing. The first cluster alludes to the impact of knowledge on economic activities; the second explores the entrepreneurial ecosystem; and the third is more heterogeneous and leads to the theoretical and critical aspects of KIE. This study provides an opportunity to analyze the relationship between knowledge-intensive innovation and the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Thus, this study may guide researchers to access the microfoundations of knowledge-intensive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in their future studies once it reveals seminal research on this specific domain.

Financial technology (fintech) startups have emerged as a compelling and digital alternative within the financial industry. However, the expansion is crucial because without proper regulation, the emergence of fintech in any country can potentially jeopardize its financial stability. In this empirical work, we analyze the emergence of fintech startups in the financial industry of a set of countries, focusing on human capital elements and regulatory environments. The study proposes a positive effect of a country’s knowledge-based capabilities on the creation of fintech startups through the country’s entrepreneurial absorptive capacity by adopting the theoretical framework of the Absorptive Capacity Theory of Knowledge Spillover Entrepreneurship. Moreover, we argue that the regulatory framework also plays a significant role in moderating the impact of entrepreneurial absorptive capacity on the establishment of fintech startups in any given country. We test our theoretical predictions using ordinary least squares and negative binomial regressions on a sample of 56 countries during the period 2008–2017. Our study demonstrates that the regulatory framework, previously regarded as a direct factor influencing fintech startup creation, also plays a significant role in moderating the impact of entrepreneurial absorptive capacity on the establishment of fintech startups. Furthermore, we find that this role may be influenced by the level of corruption in the economy and the specific types of fintech firms. These findings highlight that the drivers of fintech company creation are interconnected and work in conjunction to provide entrepreneurs with appropriate incentives to initiate new fintech ventures.