Emilia Rovira Nordman

The continued internationalisation of an international new venture

Purpose – This paper aims to explore longitudinally a life sciences international new venture’s (INV’s) development of foreign market knowledge (FMK) and how this knowledge development relates to the firm’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Design/methodology/approach – The article adopts a longitudinal case study approach to investigate an INV in the life sciences industry. Findings – The findings show that the EO of an INV changes during its internationalisation. A strong EO, often considered to be synonymous with the early expansion of an INV, is not always able to guide the INV in its later developmental stages. In its continued internationalisation, an INV instead needs firm-specific FMK accumulated from a process of learning by doing. The knowledge development of an INV is a time-consuming process that cannot be rushed by grafting new and experienced employees. Research limitations/implications – Future research focusing on larger and broader samples of INVs is recommended to validate this study’s r...

The Effect of Personal Interaction on the International Technology Development of SMEs

Abstract This study investigates the potential effect of personal interaction on international technology development in relationships between Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and their foreign customers. The mediating effect of knowledge transfer between these firms and their customers is also examined. The results of a LISREL analysis of 188 relationships between SMEs and their foreign customers demonstrate that the effect of personal interaction on international technology development is not direct but rather is mediated by knowledge transfer. Hence, the study suggests that before international technology development can be enhanced, knowledge transfer needs to be established.

Information technology and performance in industrial business relationships: the mediating effect of business development

Purpose The study addresses a gap in research concerning the specific purpose of information technology (IT) in business relationships and how it impacts business development and relationship performance. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study is to investigate the prospective effects of IT on business development and relationship performance in the business relationships of industrial firms. Design/methodology/approach Building on previous research from the industrial business relationship field, 353 relationships between Swedish industrial firms and their customers are analyzed with linear structural relations in LISREL. Findings The findings show that the effect of IT on relationship performance is not direct but mediated by business development measured in terms of business creation and product development. Research limitations/implications The study’s results imply that IT that is integrated in inter-firm operations has to be assigned a specific purpose to effectively influence relationship-specific performance. The results also indicate that more research is needed to provide additional insights about the relation between IT and performance in business relationships. Social implications If the full potential of IT-based solutions could be reached, then this could lead to the generation of new products and technologies and more competitive companies, which in turn would create more jobs and greater wealth. Originality/value In conclusion, this study fills a gap in research by highlighting that IT studied with a business relationship approach is particularly important under certain conditions. As such, the study contributes to the research stream seeking to understand the role of IT in industrial marketing and how IT should be used for increasing relationship performance.

New product development in foreign customer relationships: a study of international SMEs

Abstract This study identifies a gap in research concerning how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from pursuing locally (rather than globally) oriented internationalization strategies. Becoming overly dependent on one single foreign market could potentially reduce the inflow and diversity of new knowledge that can serve as input for new product development. This study discusses how this risk can be minimized. In this endeavour we create a theoretical model that investigates how the local sales concentration and relationship-specific commitment of SMEs relates to new product development. To do this we draw on the behavioural internationalization process framework. The theoretical model is tested on an effective sample of 188 Swedish SMEs. The results show that relationship-specific commitment mediates the effect of local sales concentration on new product development. The implication is that investments which enable collaboration in important business relationships are crucial requisites for keeping firms innovative and in pace with market fluctuations. The findings thus contribute to international business literature by showing that a local market scope of operations combined with a relationship orientation are beneficial for new product development in international SMEs.

International entrepreneurship research during the last decade: a review

A major contribution of the international entrepreneurship (IE) research field is that it has enhanced our understanding of the marketing challenges early internationalising firms face when they compete in constantly changing foreign markets. During the past decade, IE-research has, moreover, gone from focusing on the early internationalisation of firms to investigate the entrepreneurial processes of new business creation in foreign markets. However, ambiguity still exists regarding the level of analysis that ought to guide this new line of research. This article contributes by increasing our knowledge about the recent development in the international entrepreneurship research field by reviewing empirical studies performed between 2003 and 2011. The review focuses on the ontological perspectives used as well as the methods and theories that are adopted in the studies. Based on this review, the article contributes with a discussion about the evolution of the international entrepreneurship research field.

International Entrepreneurship at the Foreign Market Level: Towards a Network Perspective

The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to research in the field of international entrepreneurship by complementing existing levels of analysis with a network perspective that captures how the pursuit of international opportunities at the foreign market level unfolds through processes ingrained in the network structures that firms are embedded in. By performing a multilevel review of 50 studies within the international entrepreneurship research field, the chapter contributes with an analysis of the evolvement of the international entrepreneurship field between the years 1994 and 2010, a discussion of the fields current status and where it is going from here. The results of the review show that whereas early work in the field of international entrepreneurship is primarily concentrated on individual entrepreneurs or individual firms, network-level-focused studies dominate among the later publications. Studies that adopt explicit network approaches have the potential to contribute to international entrepreneurship research by being able to shed light on the actual mechanisms and processes by which foreign market opportunities are exploited.

Pursuing Innovation: An Investigation of the Foreign Business Relationships of Swedish SMEs* : Innovation: Foreign Business Relationships of Swedish SMEs

The aim of this study is to contribute to the international business field and research on the innovativeness of international SMEs, by addressing the following research question: To what extent and under which circumstances does relationship connectedness affect perceived innovativeness in international SMEs? To answer this question, the authors create a model that examines the mediating effects of two types of foreign business relationship strategies: relationship differentiation and relationship investments. In order to create this model, the authors draw upon behavioural internationalization process theory, network theory and research into SMEs. The findings reveal that relationship investments mediate the effect relationship connectedness has on perceived innovativeness. This study contributes to research about the innovativeness of international SMEs by showing that being connected to resources in the network is not, in itself, a guarantee of becoming or remaining innovative in foreign markets.