Hamid Etemad

The Knowledge Network of International Entrepreneurship: Theory and Evidence

The knowledge network associated with the young and emerging field of International Entrepreneurship is defined through a Bolean search progression of key words on the SSCI data bases from 1992 to 2000. The knowledge network of an applied field portrays, and usually follows, the actual developmental path of its corresponding field. Some 287 articles document the early emergence of International Entrepreneureship as a field of scholarly inquiry. When a field is young and in need of theoretical foundations, the knowledge networks of other fields may provide for those early needs. This is the case of International Entrepreneurship. The rich theoretical foundations of the two fields of International Business and Entrepreneureship, among others, have nourished and accelerated the internationalization process of entrepreneurship. A detailed analysis of 7,651 citations contained in the contributions of the 287 documents reported here traces International Entrepreneurships rich, yet young, developmental path. This analysis reveals a wealth of information, for example the lists of highly-cited books, articles, authors and their affiliated institutions presented here.

Internationalization of SMEs: Toward a New Paradigm

venturing abroad. Recently, scholars in the field of Entrepreneurship have questioned the universality of the stage-theory explanation of firm internationalization. They point to the inconsistency between the stage theory and the empirical reality of a growing number of entrepreneurially oriented firms, which tend to adopt a global focus from their conception. Not only do these new ventures lack a period of gradual internationalization, but they also tend to be small firms facing volatile markets with scant experience and resources. International Entrepreneurship, as a new field of inquiry, appears to have drawn both from International Business (traditionally focused on larger firms) and from Entrepreneurship, which primarily studies the entrepreneurial owner/ manager of small firms. Logically there is no conceptual barrier to the fusion of these two fields: larger firms can, in theory, act as entrepreneurs; and smaller entrepreneurial firms can take advantage of the vast opportunities of international markets previously exploited almost exclusively by larger firms. To explore and develop this emerging area of research, a pioneering, three-day conference was held in September 2000 at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, under the joint auspices of McGills Business and Management Research Centre, and the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies. The conference brought together leading scholars from international business, and from small business/entrepreneurship, to stimulate integration of research in what had previously been widely divergent fields. Selected papers were subjected to a rigorous process of peer review and comments. Each was revised extensively to incorporate and to reflect the perspectives of other disciplines. The final product is a series of leading-edge research papers which are presented in this volume, as well as in two other publications.1 This collection opens with a study that tests empirically the degree to which International Entrepreneurship, as an emerging field of inquiry, draws on selective theory essentials from International Business and from Entrepreneurship. Hamid Etemad and Yender Lee searched for the evidence of fusion and cross-fertilization of each fields knowledge network. They report an accelerated emergence of International Entrepreneurship as a field of research through the late 1980s and 1990s, in terms of the number of scholarly publications. They also point to an increasing number of citations to works from both International Business and Entrepreneurship, as well as other fields. Their article sets the stage for examination of more detailed issues rooted in both International Business and Entrepreneurship. Final version accepted on October 2, 2001

Toward a paradigm of symbiotic entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship often involves independent firms that compete with one another. In this article, we discuss an alternate entrepreneurship strategy, one involving symbiosis - an approach that allows entrepreneurs and their firms to benefit from a multi-polar distribution of power and control. We believe that this is especially helpful in the process of internationalisation. Rather than focusing on the internationalisation of a centralised firm with a uni-polar distribution of power and control, we suggest that the world is moving toward multi-polar networks of firms. As corporations out-source to smaller, specialised firms, power and control are becoming increasingly divided among independent firms that cooperate voluntarily for increased efficiency and profit. Symbiotic relationships are thus leading to multi-polarity, and we are moving beyond a focus on the firm - toward a focus on relationships with multi-polar networks involving symbiotic relationships.

Rapid growth and rapid internationalization: the case of smaller enterprises from Canada

Purpose – The main objective of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of high growth and rapid internationalization characteristics in terms of: empirically characterizing growth deriving the profile of high‐growth enterprises, exploring influential factors in high‐growth, pointing out the factors that stimulate internationalization, presenting the combined influence of these factors in both the high‐growth and early internationalizing enterprises, and formulating research‐based policy recommendation for longer and higher growth rates and for decreasing the chances of demise in such younger firms.Design/methodology/approach – The authors have built a longitudinal sample of more than 1,140 micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises that have grown at exceptionally high rates for at least five years at the earlier stages of their life‐cycle, and even from inception in some cases. The data‐bases origin is a popular Canadian business publication, the Canadian Business Magazine, which annually identi...

The individual inventor and the role of entrepreneurship: A survey of the Canadian evidence

Abstract The findings of the present study on the individual inventor in Canada are based on a survey conducted by mail in the summer of 1986. This survey elicited responses from 374 inventors to whom Canada had issued 352 patents in 1978 and 1983. The purpose of this article is to report the results of this survey which was conducted to gain better knowledge of the nature of the inventive process; to examine the main sociodemographic characteristics of individual inventors, and, above all, to discover the fate of their inventions. The article pays particular attention to the role of the individual inventor as innovator and entrepreneur.

Globalization and Entrepreneurship

The contributors to this collection provide a wealth of new analyses of both traditional and emerging aspects of entrepreneurship, from a variety of national perspectives and from a variety of disciplines. Globalization has begun to dismantle the barriers that traditionally segregated local business opportunities and local firms from their international counterparts. Local markets are becoming integral parts of broader, global markets. As globalization proceeds apace, entrepreneurs and small businesses will play a more prominent role on the global business arena. The volume is divided into three sections. The first looks at the internationalization process itself while the second focuses on factors facilitating this process in small and medium-sized firms. The last section examines emerging dimensions in management policy.

Managing Relations: The Essence of International Entrepreneurship

The contributors to this collection provide a wealth of new analyses of both traditional and emerging aspects of entrepreneurship, from a variety of national perspectives and from a variety of disciplines. Globalization has begun to dismantle the barriers that traditionally segregated local business opportunities and local firms from their international counterparts. Local markets are becoming integral parts of broader, global markets. As globalization proceeds apace, entrepreneurs and small businesses will play a more prominent role on the global business arena. The volume is divided into three sections. The first looks at the internationalization process itself while the second focuses on factors facilitating this process in small and medium-sized firms. The last section examines emerging dimensions in management policy.

The Rugged Entrepreneurs of Iran's Small-Scale Mining

This article – a prize-winner at the 2nd World Conference on International Entrepreneurship – reports on a nation wide survey of some 50 small-scale mining enterprises (SMEs) in 10 Provinces in Iran. Four families of factors impacting their operations are reported here. The overriding finding of this paper is that these rugged entrepreneurs create micro operating conditions, at the margins of socio-political and economic environment, that suit them and nurture their operations. It also finds that these SMEs are true entrepreneurs who deploy innovative procedures in small scale or low-grade mines, operate under adverse regulatory conditions, take high-calculated risks, and yet remain optimistic and successful. Their overall contribution is highly positive and irreplaceable by others.

Technological capabilities and industrial concentration in NICs and industrialised countries: Taiwanese SMEs versus South Korean chaebols

This paper presents a comparative study of the technological development paths and the technological profiles of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in two Asian newly industrialised countries - South Korea and Taiwan - in comparison with six advanced industrialised countries as well as a list of selected highly-populated nations. Using US patent statistics as technology indicators, the quantitative and comparative analysis of this paper shows that South Korea and Taiwan have achieved a level of technological capabilities that rival those of the advanced countries. They have achieved this through a reliance on generating and accumulating innovative and technological capabilities of their own as opposed to transferring them from other countries. The analysis also shows that the industrial structure has played a major, but different, role in these countries. In South Korea, these capabilities are concentrated in a small number of relatively larger firms (i.e. the Korean chaebols). In contrast, they are spread across a large number of relatively smaller firms in Taiwan (i.e. Taiwanese innovative SMEs). The relative technological success of Taiwan is therefore attributable to innovative activity of her SMEs.

The impact of entrepreneurial capital and rapidly growing firms: the Canadian example

World-class competitiveness is no longer an option for firms seeking growth and survival in the increasingly competitive, dynamic and interconnected world. This paper expands on the concept of entrepreneurial capital (EC) and formalises it as a catalyst that augments other productive factors. It provides empirical evidence from small, young, high-growth enterprises that EC contributes significantly to their growth through such augmentation. As emerging industries and regions face similar challenges as those of high and rapidly-growing smaller enterprises in increasingly more hostile environments that also suffer from poor resources, this research offers significant lessons with implications for emerging firms, industries and associated regions that aspire to grow faster.