Marian V. Jones

Small High-Technology Firms and International High-Technology Markets

In this qualitative investigation, the authors report on the overseas expansion processes of technologically oriented U.K. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The findings provide further challenges to the incremental approach to internationalization; also, the authors put forward criticisms in relation to policymakers’ current approach to categorizing internationalizing SMEs in the provision of trade assistance programs.

First steps in internationalisation: Concepts and evidence from a sample of small high-technology firms

There has been widespread dissatisfaction with step-stage development models of small firm internationalisation, and difficulties in applying comprehensive theories or explanations to the decisions and processes involved, resulting in calls for a return to exploratory research, and for a series of connected submodels covering different stages and dimensions of internationalisation. This paper attempts to address, at least partially, these demands. Empirical evidence from a sample of 213 small high-technology firms, consisting of quantitative data on their first steps in internationalisation, is presented and discussed. Descriptive statistics illustrate the frequency with which each type of cross-border activity is indicated across the sample, the time elapsed before each activity is established, and the combination in which they occur. The results indicate that, as expected from previous empirical evidence, trade-related activities, i.e., importing and exporting, are the modes of activity most frequently reported. Further examination reveals, however, that at least half of the firms in the sample include value chain activities other than trade in their first steps in internationalisation. These results raise questions relating to the conventional categorisations of foreign market entry modes and the design and interpretation of survey research relating to internationalisation.

Emerging Paradigms in International Entrepreneurship

Foreword Part I: International Entrepreneurship, Development of the Field and the Effects of a New Economy Part II: Conceptual and Paradigmatic Developments Part III: The Experimental Emphasis in Entrepreneurial Internationalization Part IV: International Entrepreneurship and the Internet - A Developing Research Agenda Part V: Contacts, Links and Networks - Process Driven Internationalization Part VI: Cross-Sectoral, Cross-National and Cross-Cultural Comparisons Index

International Entrepreneurship: Exploring the Logic and Utility of Individual Experience through Comparative Reasoning Approaches

In this paper, we suggest that individual experience and reasoning, as applied to new endeavors in internationalization, are concepts with high potential to advance conceptual and empirical research in international entrepreneurship (IE). Experience is known to be important in internationalization, but the logic or reasoning with which it is applied is insufficiently understood. Cognitive, comparison–based reasoning theories explain how individuals draw on experience to make sense of uncertain, novel, and complex situations. Drawing on two such theories, heuristics and analogical reasoning, we delineate the logic of experience and advance speculative propositions on its utility in the context of internationalization research.

High‐Potential Concepts, Phenomena, and Theories for the Advancement of International Entrepreneurship Research

The purpose of this special issue on international entrepreneurship (IE) is to explore concepts, phenomena, and theories with high potential to advance the field. Rather than identify concepts from the extant IE literature, we took the more novel approach of challenging leading researchers to write about IE–relevant issues through the perceptual lenses of their own, or other scholarly domains. Through this process of cross–fertilization, our intention was to generate new topics and fresh insights, alternative arguments, and constructs. The issues seven articles enrich concepts and theories for IE; advance complementary, or competing arguments that underpin IE thinking; and open the IE dialogue to issues of current global significance.

Internationalising high‐technology‐based UK firms’ information‐gathering activities

Previous studies have shown that lack of information can provide an obstacle to firms’ endeavour to be competitive in oversea markets. This study provides empirical data that examine how managers of internationalising UK high‐technology firms perceive the usefulness of overseas market information, their levels of utilisation, plus perceptions of the types of data required. Findings are based on a postal survey of winners of the Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement; also reported are selected findings from a series of in‐depth interviews. This paper sets out to establish whether statistical differences exist between two sub‐samples identified by their overseas market expansion strategies: those that concentrate on key markets as opposed to those that spread sales over a number of markets. Results from follow‐up interviews provide in‐depth data to support the quantitative findings.

Does entry mode matter? Reviewing current themes and perspectives

The mode of doing business across national borders was considered a pioneering topic in the late 1970s when concern was with the mode as a means of foreign market entry. Today, barriers to international trade and investment are signifi cantly eroded and internationalization eased by improvements in technology, infrastructure and deregulation, and it is pertinent to ask: ‘Does entry mode matter?’ The question is addressed through a discussion of literature explicitly focused on entry modes, and that examining internationalization and international entrepreneurship more widely. Concluding that insuffi cient attention is paid to mode variety and motivations in both bodies of research, a series of models positioning modes within the internationalization process are advanced. The models demonstrate the confl uence of infl uences from dynamic processes, and decision criteria on entry mode selection, motivations and internationalization path. While the role of the entry mode in current internationalization processes has evolved with changes in the world economy, it remains an important topic for research. Specifi cally, the authors call for research on the infl uence of technological change on entry modes; and deeper investigation of specifi c modes such as exporting, and of the role of social capital in the formation of formal modes of international business activity.

International entrepreneurship in the life sciences

Contents: Introduction: International Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences Marian V. Jones, Colin Wheeler and Pavlos Dimitratos PART I: NEW VENTURE ATTRIBUTES AND DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES 2. Assessing the Internationalization Capabilities of Life Science New Ventures Marian V. Jones, Colin Wheeler, Pavlos Dimitratos and George Vlachos 3. Differences in the Strategic Orientations of Nordic and US-based Young Biotechnology Ventures Maija Renko 4. Small Pharmaceutical Firms Building Capabilities to Compete Along the Global Research and Development Pipeline Lisette Pregelj, Martie-Louise Verreynne and Damian Hine PART II: THE ROLE AND ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS 5. Partnership Formation in Small Biotech Companies Niina Nummela and Outi Nurminen 6. Collaborative Entrepreneurship and Internationalization in Life Sciences: Global Growth through Collaboration in Italian Biotech Firms Antonella Zucchella and Diala Kabbara 7. Alliance-driven Governance in the Scottish Life Sciences and its Contribution to Regional Development Kean Birch and Andrew Cumbers PART III: DEVELOPING CAPABILITIES AND COMPETENCIES FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION 8. Sub-suppliers in the Life Science Industry: The Case of Two Danish University Spin-offs Erik S. Rasmussen, Martin Hannibal, Rene Lydiksen and Per Servais 9. Rapid Internationalization and Sustained Competitive Advantage in US and UK Life Science International New Ventures: A Resource-based View Karl Warner and Jon Carrick 10. Intellectual Property Protection: The Case of Three Swiss Life Science SMEs Marcus Matthias Keupp, Sascha Friesike and Oliver Gassmann PART IV: GROWTH, PERFORMANCE AND INTERNATIONALIZATION 11. Performance Trade-offs: Success, Revenue and Profitability Colin Wheeler, Marian V. Jones, George Vlachos and Pavlos Dimitratos 12. Internationalization of Life Science Firms: Dynamics in the Interaction between Networks, Innovation and Export Performance Vandana Ujjual 13. Firm Growth and Performance in Biotechnology: Financial Facts or Wishful Thinking? Malin Brannback, Alan L. Carsrud and Niklas Kiviluoto 14. A Model of Decision-making Processes in Internationalized Life Science Firms Pavlos Dimitratos, Marian V. Jones and Colin Wheeler 15. Towards a Research Agenda for International Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences Marian V. Jones, Colin Wheeler and Pavlos Dimitratos References Index

International Entrepreneurial Culture, International Opportunity Perception and Pattern of International Exploitation: Towards an Integrated Model

Currently topical in international business research is the emergent field of international entrepreneurship. Interest in this topic has gained momentum in recent years, with an increasing number of articles appearing in journals and dedicated special issues (Coviello and Jones, 2004). Following the definition advanced by McDougall and Oviatt (2000) international entrepreneurship deals with the innovative, proactive and risk-seeking behavior of firms across borders. Its relevance in the modern era of globalization, wherein firms seek to achieve a competitive advantage worldwide, has escalated. It appears that Wright and Ricks (1994) could not have been more correct when they predicted that this area would become one of the most topical areas in international business.

Resources, efficiency and globalization

Agglomeration and Flows of Inward and Outward Direct Investment: An Analysis of Financial Services in the UK Career Orientation of the 21st Century Knowledge Professionals Knowledge Management and Growth Strategies: Evidence from Chinese Knowledge-Intensive New Ventures Resources of Multinational Enterprises Used for Corporate Political Activities in the European Union Using the Resource-Based View to Advance International Entrepreneurship: An Empirical review on How Far have we Come Since Pengs 2001 Predictions? A Conceptualization of e-Risk Perceptions and the Offline-Online Risk Trade-off for Small Firm internationalization Hybrid Competitive Strategies for Achieving Superior Performance During Global Expansion: Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises Originating in SMOPECs Which Come First: Domestic or Foreign Subsidiaries? Analysis of Global Integration and Local Responsiveness Among Japanese Service Companies The Internationalisation of Knowledge Based Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises from Syria Experience and Performance in Inter-unit Knowledge Transfer Standardization vs. Adaptation of the Marketing Mix Strategy in SME Exports The Importance of Location: Does Outward FDI lead to Unemployment? Barriers to the internationalisation of SMEs: The perspective of support service providers Embedded Subsidiaries and the Involvement of Headquarters in Innovation Transfer Processes Interorganizational Governance Value Creation through Improving Supplier Responsiveness: The Role of Virtual Integration, Commitment and Knowledge Sharing in International Customer-Supplier Relationships