Niina Nummela

Value creation of an internationalizing entrepreneurial firm

Purpose – In order to respond to the call for a broader perspective on the internationalization of entrepreneurial firms, this study aims to bring the business model concept to the context of international entrepreneurship, with special emphasis on the notion of value formation and value exchange at company interfaces.Design/methodology/approach – This is a cross‐case study based on qualitative data from business model workshops with key company informants in each case firm.Findings – The findings of the study indicate that, although the business models of firms with comparable positions may appear similar, there are fine‐grained differences both in their activities and in their value formation. In addition, the data collection workshops revealed that firms tend to neglect the inspection of their incentives to their partners, as they concentrate on value formation to end‐customers.Practical implications – From the managerial point of view, the study shows how the managers of international entrepreneurial ...

Market orientation and internationalisation in small software firms

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse the role of market orientation in the internationalisation of small software firms.Design/methodology/approach – The study combines qualitative case studies with quantitative data from the firms in question.Findings – Market orientation in the internationalisation of knowledge‐intensive small firms consists of three elements: customer orientation, competitor orientation and value‐network coordination. Achieving a successful balance between these elements will considerably smoothen the internationalisation process.Practical implications – The results of this study suggest that small companies should consider their market‐oriented behaviour in line with their value network. The role of market orientation may also vary according to market‐pull or technology‐push conditions.Originality/value – This study is among the first empirical contributions to combine the internationalisation and market‐orientation approaches in studying SMEs. It also contributes to achieving a bette...

Market Orientation for the Public Sector Providing Expert Services for SMEs

LERLA HUMERINTA-PELTOMAKI IS A researcher at the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration, Finland, and Niina Nummela is an Assistant Professor at the same university. In this paper, the authors attempt to characterise the small business market for expert services. The aims of the paper can be summarised as follows: to distinguish the characteristics of users and non-users of expert services; to evaluate the overall potential for future uise of expert services; to analyse the characteristics of potential users of expert services. This paper is part of a large ongoing research project concerning expert services and SMEs in Finland. The empirical analysis is based on the responses of 400 firms. The results reveal that possibilities do exist for a market orientation in the public sector. The authors have suggested a typology of SMEs according to current and future use of expert services. This typology enables the service providers to define their customers and also to design strategies for handling each customer group individually. The identification of different customer types creates an opportunity for exploiting large-scale demand, which is a requirement for the effectiveness of service providers in the public sector. SMEs see a market orientation on the supply side in terins of a more proactive supply effort to provide information regarding the services.

The dynamics of failure in international new ventures: A case study of Finnish and Irish software companies

This article investigates venture failure in the context of rapid internationalisation using a literature-based framework and four illustrative cases from Finland and Ireland. In addition to introducing a contextualised definition of failure, we offer a holistic framework for analysing failure in future studies while also identifying critical incidents, as well as internal and external factors, informing the failure process. The findings suggest that managerial capabilities, particularly managerial experience and business competence, filter the external drivers of failure.

Network management – the key to the successful rapid internationalisation of the small software firm?

The internationalisation of technology-based small firms and their networks has been the subject of many studies in recent years. However, these studies concentrate mainly on network formation and provide limited information on network management during the internationalisation process. This paper describes the role of partnerships in the internationalisation of small software firms, and analyses the network development in two case companies. The study revealed that the product plays a significant role in the choice of international partnership strategies, four of which are put forward as relevant to software firms. The selection of a suitable strategy should be based on a thorough evaluation of the companys products, its own resources, and its requirements for potential partners. Managers should also pay particular attention to creating a revenue logic that is mutually rewarding for the company itself and its partners. Although partnership with a local distributor is often the most sensible operational mode, the company should remain sensitive to customer needs and requirements.

From temporary support to systematic resource development: expert services from an SME perspective

Competition in expert services has forced the service providers to consider a more customer‐oriented strategy. Unfortunately, for many of them customers are a faceless “mass”. In order to facilitate a restructuring of the business, SME managers were asked about their needs for such services. The empirical analysis is based on the responses of 400 Finnish SMEs from various industries. The results indicate that the relationship between a firms life cycle and the need for expert services should not be overlooked.

Three Case Studies from Finland

Internationalization among both small and largefirms has been steadily increasing in recent years.In order to competewith larger firms, small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have hastened theprocess of gaining the resources and skills to operate internationally. This research examines the changes made by SMEs in order to compete on aninternational level, andexamines previous research regardingmodifications in SME internationalization.The researchers conductedsemi-structured, face-to-face interviews with representatives of three Finnishmanufacturing firms.Following a description of each companysproducts, networking, international business activity, organizationalstructure, and firm changes, the similarities and differences between firms arerecognized and discussed.All three companies are experienced ininternational business and at operating in a variety of worldmarkets.However, the companies differ in terms of the internal andexternal changes they have experienced and the catalysts for thesechanges. The overall findings of the case studies indicate that SMEsenter the international market through a variety of paths. (AKP)

Finding Positivity During a Major Organizational Change: In Search of Triggers of Employees’ Positive Perceptions and Feelings

Abstract This study explores the sources and triggers of positivity during a major organizational change. The qualitative research methodology is developed around discovering and interpreting employees’ perceptions in a mergers & acquisitions (M&A) process. The results lead us to suggest that change may be perceived in at least three positive ways to constitute positive identity construction. Implications for work-related identity and identification research are discussed.

Dialogue as a source of positive emotions during cross-border post-acquisition socio-cultural integration

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how dialogue can be used to promote post-acquisition socio-cultural integration. Specifically, it addresses questions regarding when and how companies can utilise dialogue to generate positivity regarding socio-cultural integration. Design/methodology/approach A single case study approach was adopted owing to its suitability for creating in-depth understanding in the context of socio-cultural integration. Primary data were collected via interviews, an employee satisfaction survey, and participant observation. Secondary data were obtained from the case company’s internal materials, such as strategies, integration workflows, and employee magazines. Analysis methods included descriptive statistics and thematic qualitative analysis. Findings The findings suggest that dialogue can be used to create positivity regarding socio-cultural integration throughout the stages of unfreezing, moving, and refreezing by actively engaging employees in voicing, listening, respecting, and suspending. It is proposed that cultural conflict during post-acquisition socio-cultural integration can be overcome through the generation of positivity; dialogue enables the collective management of emotions during post-acquisition integration by offering a platform for creating positivity and social cohesion; and due to its collaborative and engaging nature, dialogue provides an especially effective means of communication for overcoming cross-cultural conflict. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to showcase dialogue as a specific means of communication for creating positivity during cross-border socio-cultural integration. This study reached beyond comparative cultural research to offer views on positivity, emotion during socio-cultural integration, and dialogue as means for overcoming cross-cultural conflict.

Forging the Link between Business Model and Value Chain Constructs in the Context of an Internationalizing Entrepreneurial Firm — A Case Study

Expansion to international markets requires changes in company strategy in order for it to fit into the novel environment (Calof and Beamish, 1995; Lam and White, 1999; McDougall and Oviatt, 1996). However, prior research on international entrepreneurship (IE) provides only a limited understanding of how companies change during internationalization (Nummela et al., 2006), and how this internal change is reflected in their value chain. The concept of the value chain seems to be central in IE research, which emphasizes that successful internationalization is based on controlling, not necessarily owning, value-creating assets and knowledge located in different parts of the globe (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994). Internationally entrepreneurial firms move their assets globally in order to stay competitive. Consequently, the value chain of these companies is often disintegrated and globally dispersed, and the company itself resembles a ‘global factory’ that reflects the combination of the innovation, distribution and production of goods and services worldwide (Buckley, 2009; Buckley and Ghauri, 2004). We do not assert, however, that all the value chain activities of entrepreneurial firms need to spread globally. For example, due to a global specialization in many industries, such as information and communications technology (ICT), some value chain activities never diffuse to all the continents of the ‘triad’, but locate more on a regional basis (e.g. sourcing and production in China and India). Therefore it might also be more efficient for a company to pursue regional rather than global strategy (Rugman and Verbeke, 2004).