Abstract
Our 2004 Journal of International Business Studies article, "Innovation, Organizational Capabilities, and the Born Global Firm" provided a framework for the phenomenon of early and rapid internationalization among young, entrepreneurial firms. This work can be characterized as an integration of marketing, entrepreneurial, and capability-based thinking around exporting, positioned as the born global exporter. The article also reported findings from a national study of start-up firms that expanded abroad early in their evolution. In the present commentary, we reflect on the contributions of the 2004 article, review the scholarship on the topic over the past decade, and offer suggestions for future inquiry. While the incidence of early internationalization by firms was a novel concept two decades ago, today such firms are found in abundance in many countries. Yet many unresolved research questions remain, including the crucial topic of what happens to "born global" firms as they grow and mature over time. Similarly, the issue of why some firms internationalize early, others late in their evolution, and still others choose to remain local, is a fundamental question for international business scholarship.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3-16 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of International Business Studies |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Jan 2015 |
Funding
2Our 2004 JIBS paper originated from Gary Knight’s dissertation, “Emerging Paradigm for International Marketing: The Born Global Firm,” completed at Michigan State University. Gary owes an enormous debt of gratitude to Tamer Cavusgil, Professor and Chair of his dissertation committee. In addition, the counsel of Robert Nason, Professor and Department Chair and Stanley Hollander, the late distinguished marketing Professor is gratefully acknowledged. Gary is especially thankful to Cavusgil, a visionary thought leader in international business education and research. Based on his observations in 1994 of young, entrepreneurial Australian firms that internationalize early, Tamer originally suggested the idea for this dissertation and his guiding light was crucial to its completion. Funding for the dissertation was provided by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at Michigan State University. Professors Cornelia Droge, Richard Spreng, and Attila Yaprak (Wayne State University) also had a hand in supporting the dissertation research. We also thank Professor Arie Lewin, JIBS editor in 2004, for very insightful support he provided in seeing our article through to its publication. Naturally, we also wish to express our sincere appreciation to the anonymous JIBS reviewers for the care they exercised in providing valuable suggestions so that we can refine our ideas and presentation.
Keywords
- born globals
- decade award
- early internationalization
- entrepreneurial firms
- innovation/creativity
- rapid internationalization