Internationalization of Internet-Enabled Entrepreneurial Firms: Evidence from Europe and North America, The

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Mar 2004 by Loane, Sharon, McNaughton, Rod B, Bell, Jim

Recognition that internationalization is affected by multiple influences has also led to renewed interest in contingency approaches. Such a view was articulated by Reid (1983), but did not attract much attention until recently. However, in the last decade Kumar and Subramaniam (1997), Woodcock, Beamish, and Makino (1994), and Yeoh and Jeong (1995), among others, have developed.contingency frameworks in the international business and exporting fields. In justifying this perspective, Kumar and Subramaniam argue that the existing literature has not devoted much attention to evaluating market selection and mode of entry decisions as interdependent decisions. One might go even further and suggest that the range of the firms' internationalization decisions, incorporating product decisions, market choice, and entry modes, are made in a holistic way (a notion initially presented by Luostarinen, 1979).

In a similar vein, Bell and Young (1998) and CovielIo and McAuley (1999) have argued that excessive attention has been paid to the merits of competing theories and models rather than to their potential complementarities. The latter authors conclude that small and mediumsized enterprise (SME) internationali/.ation is best understood by integrating major theoretical frameworks. Here a resource-based perspective may provide a useful framework to integrate competing conceptualizations (Bell & Young). Its basic premise is that it is the firm's ability to generate and build or leverage resources and competencies that is the key to competitive advantage and organizational survival (Barney, 1991; Grant, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984). Small firms will respond differently in their efforts to overcome resource/competence deficiencies in areas such as finance and human resources, in both a domestic and international context. Such responses will also be contingent on the levels of resources the firm has at its disposal (Reid, 1983; Woodcock et al., 1994; Yeoh & Jeong, 1995), particularly in respect to international expansion where risks are likely to be higher and the human, financial, and knowledge resource requirements greater. Thus, the decision to internationalize incrementally or rapidly and whether to adopt atomistic or networked approaches is not only based on perceptions of opportunity, but also upon the resources the firm has at its disposal or can leverage from external sources.

Drivers of lnternationalization

There is clear consensus in the extant literature that the attributes and attitudes associated with the owners/founders or key decision-makers are pivotal to the decision to internationalize (see Aaby & Slater, 1989, and Miesenbock, 1988, for comprehensive reviews). Knight and Cavusgil's (1997) examination of the mindset of managers in born global firms found that a global orientation is positively associated with export performance. McDougall et al.'s (1994) work demonstrated that international from inception firms were often founded by a team of individuals with international experience. Directly related to this is the work of Bloodgood, Sapienza, and Almeida (1996), which posited that the international experience of the entire top management team was related to greater Intel-nationalization at the time of an IPO.