Romeo V. Turcan

De-Internationalization and the Small Firm

The last decade of the twentieth century has contributed most to the body of knowledge about the internationalization of small firms. During that period, the focus was primarily on the growth — or positive development — of international business operations (Benito and Welch, 1997). The problem with the growth of the firm, however, is simply that most firms do not experience growth (Penrose, 1959). This is particularly true not so much at the initial internationalization stage, when firms start exporting, but at the next stage of real international commitment, for example making an international investment (Yip et al, 2000). In such situations, trying to manage the firm’s portfolio proactively (Douglas and Craig, 1996), managers may decide to reduce international engagement or leave the foreign market completely (Pauwels and Matthyssens, 1999). To date, the research on the withdrawal of small firms from cross-border activities (totally or partially) is relatively scarce (Benito and Welch, 1997; Pauwels and Matthyssens, 1999; Matthyssens and Pauwels, 2000; Crick, 2002). This chapter aims to further the understanding of cross-border activities of small firms by exploring the nature of the de-internationalization processes in small firms. To do this, literature from several disciplinary areas will be brought together and a conceptual framework of small firms’ withdrawal processes will be developed.

The Philosophy of Turning Points: A Case of De-Internationalization

This chapter introduces and discusses the concept of turning points from the ontological, epistemological and methodological perspectives, applying it to the de-internationalization phenomenon to exemplify its deployment. As a concept that adds to the variance and complexity of the international business and management field, the turning point is seen as a valuable unit of analysis within the research field. It is expected that this chapter will encourage a dynamic scholarly conversation about the concept of turning point and how it can aid international business researchers in the development of a generalizable international business and management theory.

Empirical Studies on Legitimation Strategies: A Case for International Business Research Extension

The paper focuses on legitimation and legitimation strategies applied by companies. Following the process of systematic review, we analyse empirical studies exploring legitimation and legitimation strategies from different theoretical perspectives. Using the key findings by reconnoitering and comparing the theoretical background, approaches, methodologies and findings of these empirical studies, we outline potential directions for research in the legitimation strategies of firms engaged in international business operations.

External legitimation in international new ventures: toward the typology of captivity

This paper explores within the framework of new venture legitimation how and why international new ventures acquire external legitimacy and strive for survival in the face of critical events. Following a longitudinal multiple-case study methodology that was adopted for the purpose of theory building, the paper introduces the typology of captivity, and the four types that have emerged: captive industry supplier, captive dyadic partner, captive market leader, and free market leader. The effects of captivity types on the acquisition of external legitimacy and its survival, on reaching legitimacy threshold, and on the valuation of the venture are discussed and respective propositions are put forward to guide future research.

The Emergence of an International New Software Venture from an Emerging Economy

This study is positioned at the intersection of legitimation and international entrepreneurship theories. It is a longitudinal ethnographic case study that explores the process of emergence of an international new software venture from an emerging economy and the effect this venture has on the process of industry creation in that economy. Data were collected over a two year period, 2010-2011, via in-depth interviews, observations, and unobtrusive data. Data analysis reveals three different contexts in which legitimation took place: legitimation of the new venture domestically and internationally, and legitimation of the new industry. To acquire cognitive legitimacy and socio-political legitimacy and successfully internationalize, an international new venture needs to design a robust business model targeting both internal and external stakeholders, engage in persuasive argumentation invoking familiar cues and scripts, promote and defend incentives and operating mechanisms in political negotiations, and overcome the country-of-origin effect by pursuing a technology legitimation strategy.

Toward a Metatheory of Economic Bubbles

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Bubbles: Towards a Typology

This viewpoint paper develops the major meta-dimensions for bubbles of various types, ranging from the hype and speculative bubbles that sometimes form around some movies to major economic bubbles such as in housing properties and financial assets like stocks. Based on these meta-dimensions, a typology of bubbles is offered, along with discussion and some elaborations of the major types of bubbles.

Have we made it? Investigating value-creating strategies in early internationalizing ventures

Purpose The extant research on early internationalizing ventures focuses primarily on these ventures’ start-up phase or their initial internationalization. Scarce attention is paid to how these ventures grow, if at all, beyond their start-up phase or initial internationalization phase. This paper aims to explore how international new ventures transition from the internationalizing phase to the phase of being international, and whether they actually made it to that phase. Understanding whether and how these ventures reach their “made-it” point would contribute to our understanding of how early internationalization affects a venture’s survival and growth. In this, the authors draw on the dynamic capability theory of the firm. Design/methodology/approach Given the scarcity of theoretical understanding and empirical evidence in this substantive area of research, the authors adopted a multiple case study methodology for the purpose of theory building. Following an intensity sampling strategy, they purposefully selected information-rich, but not extreme two-case companies. The authors initially collected unobtrusive data in the form of running records and mass-media news reports from the inception of the case companies. They then conducted in-depth interviews with key decision makers of the case companies, namely, their co-founders and CEOs. Critical incident technique guidelines for data analysis were employed. Findings Grounded in data, the following constructs emerged related to value creation: strategic experimentation, gestalt tensions and legitimacy lies. Entrepreneurs experiment with and reconfigure their venture at several levels: goal (vision), decision (strategic) and behavioral (tactical) levels of the organizational gestalt to reach a threshold level of practiced activity. Entrepreneurs’ strategic experimentation efforts are fueled by tensions that exist at these three levels of the organizational gestalt. During this experimentation process, entrepreneurs may tell legitimacy lies to legitimate their ventures in the eyes of their stakeholders. Research limitations/implications Given the instrument the authors used to explore the issues and concerns identified above, the results are limited in scope. However, a number of questions and conjectures are put forward to guide future research in this currently under-researched area of international entrepreneurship. The authors have also suggested using the concept of turning point in future research to advance the understanding of the dynamic capability view of international new ventures. Practical implications Understanding whether and how international new ventures reach their made-it points would contribute to the understanding of how early internationalization affects international new ventures’ organizational survival and growth. Originality/value The authors have put forward the concept of the made-it point to aid international entrepreneurship researchers to investigate the continued growth, evolutionary patterns and the organizational survival of international new ventures.

The Challenge of University Autonomy

There is a consensus among European historians that the oldest European university was founded in Bologna in 1088. However, there are disputes about the location of the oldest university in the world. There were important centers of scholarship in the ancient world and major institutions of theological, legal, and scientific study in the Islamic world before Bologna. The medieval European universities enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy depending on their legal status and the source of their funding. The cities in which they were located tended to draw their reputation and prestige from the existence of the university, which played an important economic, social, and political role in the life of the city and the surrounding region. Until the nineteenth century, participation in university education tended to be limited to the social and political elite. In the nineteenth century, higher education (HE) expanded considerably with the establishment of new institutions of HE, increasingly with a more scientific and technological perspective.

University Internationalization and University Autonomy: Toward a Theoretical Understanding

The aim of this chapter is to deepen our theoretical understanding of the internationalization of universities. Specifically, we explore the relationship between university internationalization and university autonomy, and argue that the process of university internationalization and its sustainability is dependent on domestic and international university autonomy settings. We conjecture that the process of university internationalization and its sustainability are determined by the structure and exercise of university autonomy settings at home and in the host (target) countries, and that the process itself cannot be successfully achieved and maintained without changes in the autonomy settings.