Aiqi Wu

The Effects of Early Internationalization on Performance Outcomes in Young International Ventures: The Mediating Role of Marketing Capabilities

In an emerging market context, this article examines the impact of early international market entry on marketing capability development and performance outcomes in young and small entrepreneurial firms. The authors identify the importance of marketing capabilities and the boundary conditions associated with international commitment, as well as the type of international market entered (developed vs. emerging market), to determine performance outcomes in early internationalization. With survey data from more than 300 senior managers in China, the results indicate that early foreign market entry enhances a young ventures marketing capabilities, which in turn leads to international growth. The findings also reveal that young ventures tend to be in a better position to improve their marketing capabilities when their senior management demonstrates a high level of commitment to foreign markets. Furthermore, the impact of marketing capabilities on the performance outcomes of early internationalization seems more salient among ventures that target developed, rather than emerging, foreign markets. Theoretically, through the lens of organizational learning and the development of marketing capabilities, this article contributes to the study of international new ventures by demonstrating that marketing capabilities serve as enabling factors that help young international ventures mitigate their liabilities of foreignness to achieve international performance outcomes.

Effects of Geographic Search on Product Innovation in Industrial Cluster Firms in China

The literature suggests that cluster firms may undertake both local and nonlocal geographic searches for knowledge that contributes to their product innovation, and that cluster firms must balance their local and nonlocal searches for product innovation. Yet, previous research has seen local and nonlocal searches as one‐dimensional, rather than two‐dimensional, activities involving search breadth and depth. In this study, we show that local search and nonlocal search are balanced by jointly considering the breadth and depth of geographic search, and that the optimal balance depends on industry dynamism. Using a sample from two industry clusters in China, we find positive relationships between relative local search depth, relative nonlocal search breadth, and the product innovation of cluster firms. Relative local search depth and relative nonlocal search breadth contribute more to product innovation in stable industries than in dynamic industries. 摘要. 相关文献表明，集群企业可以采取本地搜寻和非本地搜寻来获取产品创新所需的知识，同时，企业必须平衡这两种地理搜寻方式以利用各自的优势。但是，已有的研究将本地搜寻和非本地搜寻视作单一维度的活动，而非包括了搜寻宽度和搜寻深度的两维搜寻活动。本研究认为，通过同时考虑地理搜寻的宽度和深度，集群企业可以实现本地搜寻与非本地搜寻的平衡，而且，优化的平衡依赖于产业的动态性水平。利用来自中国两个产业集群的数据，本研究实证发现，相对本地搜寻深度和相对非本地搜寻宽度有助于促进集群企业的产品创新绩效，它们对稳定性集群企业的作用要大于动态性集群企业。

Understanding Earliness of Internationalization and Its Impact on Postentry Geographic Diversity of International Young Ventures

Early and rapid internationalization has emerged as an established phenomenon of research, yet several fundamental issues remain to be studied. In this research, the authors aim to analyze the link between earliness of internationalization—a temporal dimension of foreign market entry—and the geographic diversity of international expansion, as well as the contingent nature of the relationship. They test their hypotheses with empirical data collected in a survey among international young ventures in China. The results show that while earliness of internationalization does not directly lead to the geographic diversity of a ventures international expansion, its impact becomes salient as the venture gains international legitimacy and strategic flexibility. Furthermore, the moderating effects of international legitimacy and strategic flexibility vary according to the type of the ventures first foreign market (regional vs. global). This research advances the knowledge not only of the important role of early foreign market entry but also of the strategic factors for paths created by accelerated internationalization. It potentially contributes to the emergent research on foreign market entry timing/speed of internationalization and performance implications of international young ventures.