Think Globally, Act Cooperatively: Entrepreneurial Partnering between International New Ventures and Multinational Enterprises

We examine the international new venture - multinational enterprise interface, specifically the extent and nature of entrepreneurial partnering actions undertaken by internationalization-seeking new ventures vis-a-vis MNEs as an internationalization pathway. Based on three longitudinal cases in the Bangalore software industry, we identify three distinct internationalization pathways for new ventures based on their engagement with MNEs: passive, active and co-creation. These pathways exhibit increasing levels of new ventures’ entrepreneurial partnering actions and MNEs’ corresponding partnering initiatives. For both sets of firms to attain their respective ends, their strategies need to co-align through the appropriate partnering strategy and interface, which reflect these actors’ respective strategies and the “effortful” nature of INV-MNE engagement. Furthermore, we highlight that the state of the local milieu plays a vital contingency role by being more conducive to certain pathways than to others.