Born Globals' Risk Perception and Internationalization in Emerging Markets.
| Autor | Stocker, Fabricio |
1 Introduction
The emergence of a new field of study in the literature on international entrepreneurship, caused by the emergence of born global firms at the start of 1990, creates a major challenge for the dominant theories on the internationalization process (Paul & Rosado-Serrano, 2019). These new ventures adopt a global vision from the beginning of their operations and focus on a rapid internationalization process (Fan & Phan, 2018), which have been investigated by various authors, such as Choquette et al. (2017), Gabrielsson et al. (2008), Grazzi and Moschella (2018), and Knight and Cavusgil (2004), focusing mainly on technology-based companies and developed countries.
Previous studies have identified that emerging market firms develop different strategies to compete and survive in the international market (Santos et al., 2021a; Stocker et al., 2021). In specific new ventures, born globals, commanded by their founders/entrepreneurs, adopt a more aggressive positioning, with a global vision and objectives and a lower aversion to and perception of risk (Bangara et al., 2012). That is why they have received considerably more attention among researchers in recent years (De Clercq et al., 2016; Llanos-Contreras et al., 2021). However, investigations into small and medium-sized international enterprises in this context of emerging markets are still scarce (Prieto-Sanchez & Merino, 2022; Urbano et al., 2019).
Specifically, in born globals, it is believed that the competencies, abilities, and the way that the risks are perceived and managed differ from other ventures, given that the internationalization process takes place in a different and non-gradual way, as discussed by the literature (Gabrielsson et al., 2008; Ughetto, 2016). However, although risk and internationalization in born globals are topics of academic and corporate interest, no models evaluate these constructs. There is also a lack of research in this field. As a result, new propositions can be offered with more in-depth studies and empirical findings (Knight & Liesch, 2016).
Given the lack of theoretical clarity in the examination of internationalization and risk perception in born globals, mainly in emerging markets, the objective of this article is to address this gap, proposing an integrative model of risk analysis and influencing factors regarding the propensity and speed of the internationalization process of born globals. The proposed model is empirically tested in microbreweries of Brazilian origin. This industry is characterized by intense national competition and rapid growth of small enterprises focused on artisanal production and with an international positioning since their foundation--the born global microbreweries. The administration of the survey resulted in a sample of 200 microbreweries. The variables and scale used to construct the model come from the literature on born globals and risk in internationalization, supported by recent studies.
The data are analyzed employing structural equation modeling (SEM). This study presents two theoretical contributions in addition to its managerial implications. First, the study further complements and enriches the research on risk perception in the field of international entrepreneurship (Crovini et al., 2021), offering integration between the internationalization constructs (characteristics, speed, and propensity for internationalization) and the risk evaluation and perception constructs (from the viewpoint of entrepreneurs and the context of the organization). Second, this study contributes to the literature in emerging markets, discussing the characteristics of entrepreneurship and small businesses within this context, which present a more aggressive strategic positioning. At the end, we present the limitations of this research and an agenda for future studies.
2 Theoretical framework and hypotheses development
The internationalization process covers a series of commitments and projects that are planned by a company's management. However, especially in small and medium-sized firms, managers are unable to predict all the risks that will be faced during the internationalization process (Liesch et al., 2011), and sometimes this lack of perception about particular risks affects the process and increases the costs of the international operation (Guo & Jiang, 2020).
According to Cavusgil et al. (2014), the evolution in how new international ventures are organized is clear evidence of the globalization phenomenon and of the persuasive impact of new technologies. Furthermore, this phenomenon has caused disagreement between the classical explanations regarding the internationalization process of traditional companies and these new ventures, thus opening up space for new discussions and new theoretical perspectives on this new phenomenon.
2.1 Born globais
The environmental change in international trade, due to the internationalization of markets, the ever-greater presence of firms and professionals with international experience, and the strengthening of relationship networks around the world, have driven the emergence of new ventures with foreign operations and a global vision from the start, the so-called "born globals," which have been investigated by various authors, such as Choquette et al. (2017), Gabrielsson et al. (2008), Grazzi and Moschella (2018), Oviatt and McDougall (2005), and Stocker and Abib (2019), among others.
In born globals with accelerated growth, entrepreneurs present a global mindset, long-term view, and lower risk perception (Civera et al., 2020). As a result, they adopt a more aggressive positioning in the market and take different strategic choices than those presented by the traditional literature, even when it comes to companies from emerging countries (Bangara et al., 2012; Stocker et al., 2021). Oviatt and McDougall (2005) compare born global firms and the Theory of Internationalization from Johanson and Martin Martin (2015). They consider that unlike the assumptions of the Uppsala model, whose internationalization process is gradual, for born globals it is quick. However, resources may be limited by their size and time in existence, and they may have little or no experience in any market. Nonetheless, these new ventures commit to the international market, assuming the risks of early operations in it. Moreover, the studies argue that born globals have an advantage in acquiring knowledge and experience due to exposure in the international market and develop capabilities more quickly than other traditional ventures (Gabrielsson et al., 2008; Paul & Rosado-Serrano, 2019).
There is still a misinterpretation about the concept and extent of what born globals are. According to Gabrielsson et al. (2008), there is a need to adopt a familiar concept for studying born globals to make comparisons and generalizations. This study adopts the definition of born globals presented by Gabrielsson et al. (2008), who define a born global as a company with a global vision from the start, with potentially global products and services and entrepreneurial capacity to accelerate the internationalization process. In the same way, Melen and Nordman (2009) also argue that born global companies start to operate in several foreign markets, from the beginning or soon after, and may present multiple modes of internationalization.
Much of the research on born globals has been conducted in developed countries, such as Johanson and Martin Martin (2015) analyzing Spanish firms, Sui and Baum (2014) analyzing Canadian firms, Trudgen and Freeman (2014) analyzing Australian firms, and Braunerhjelm and Halldin (2019) analyzing Swedish start-ups. In addition, the researchers focus on high-technology companies, such as 0yna et al. (2018) with technology-based born global firms from Israel, and Brouthers et al. (2016) with ibusiness firms from Germany. In the context of research in emerging countries, there is a concentration of studies mainly in China (Lin & Si, 2019), so there is space for further studies and advances in the area regarding enterprises from different emerging market countries and more traditional and less dynamic sectors.
2.2 Internationalization propensity
Internationalization propensity in this research is considered according to the research model for born globals proposed by Madsen and Servais (1997). The authors' model is proposed based on a consolidated analysis of the research on new international ventures and defines three main variables: entrepreneurial (individual factors), organizational, and environmental.
The characteristics of the entrepreneur/founder of the business cover questions of cognition, training background and professional experience, and ease of cultural adaptation (Ughetto, 2016). The organizational characteristics of the venture include competencies, routines, the flow of internal processes, and corporate governance structure (Ughetto, 2016). Moreover, the characteristics of the external environment include the internationalization dynamic of the market itself and the technological advances influenced mainly by the globalization phenomenon (Civera et al., 2020; Madsen & Servais, 1997; Ughetto, 2016).
Entrepreneurs with a global mindset are more able to explore new business opportunities in international markets (Cahen & Borini, 2020), acting more actively and aggressively while also having a more significant adaptability potential than managers with an internal/ national market orientation (Civera et al., 2020; Grazzi & Moschella, 2018; Jin et al., 2018).
The integrative model proposed tests the hypotheses of an association between the characteristics of the entrepreneur, the organization, the environment, and the definition of born globals. Thus, the following hypotheses will be tested:
H1. The high level of global characteristics of the entrepreneur has a positive relationship with the propensity for internationalization in born globals.
H2. The high...
Para continuar a ler
PEÇA SUA AVALIAÇÃOCOPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
