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The changing role of network ties and critical capabilities in an international new venture’s early development
Högskolan i Halmstad.
Jönköping University, Jönköping International Business School, JIBS, Center for Family Enterprise and Ownership (CeFEO). Jönköping University, Jönköping International Business School, JIBS, Media, Management and Transformation Centre (MMTC).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7415-7519
Högskolan i Halmstad.
2017 (English)In: The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, ISSN 1554-7191, E-ISSN 1555-1938, Vol. 3, no 1, p. 113-140Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The importance of networks for firm internationalization has been pointed out for several decades. Especially for small and new firms, networks have been found to be an important tool to gain access to resources and to overcome liabilities of newness, smallness and foreignness. Yet, there is a lack of understanding regarding which types of capabilities are developed through networking and how and when networks are used for growth purposes overtime. The aim of this article is to explore how and when the individual key actors’ competence bases and networking activities create, develop and deploy critical capabilities during different phases of an international new venture’s early development. The article is based on a longitudinal, in-depth case study ofa Swedish international new venture from the medical-technology industry. We find that the development process is greatly affected by the key individual actors’ various competences, existing network ties and their leveraging of different indirect ties during the pre-founding, start-up and establishment of production phases. During the commercialization and sales growth phases, however, many new network ties are developed. The heterogeneity of the individual actors’ backgrounds plays an important role during the different developmental phases. We conclude by advancing a number of propositions inrelation to how critical capabilities are created, developed and deployed through networking during different developmental phases.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2017. Vol. 3, no 1, p. 113-140
Keywords [en]
Internationalization, Networks, Medical-technology sector, International new venture, Longitudinal study, Capabilities
National Category
Economics and Business
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-26362DOI: 10.1007/s11365-016-0398-3ISI: 000394301700005Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84968627105OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-26362DiVA, id: diva2:806612
Funder
Swedish Research CouncilAvailable from: 2015-04-21 Created: 2015-04-21 Last updated: 2017-12-04Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. The role of industry context for new venture internationalization: Evidence from the medical technology sector
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The role of industry context for new venture internationalization: Evidence from the medical technology sector
2015 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The medical technology sector consists of numerous small niche markets. Approximately 95% are small and medium sized enterprises, many of which are start-ups that develop technological breakthroughs for the healthcare sector. The competition in this sector is highly global. In addition, firms that originate from countries with small home markets, like Sweden, are therefore often pushed to an early internationalization process while commercializing their product innovations. Although the potential demand for the medical technology innovation is global, institutions such as the regulation and financing of the healthcare sector are nation specific. Little is known about how the combination of specific industry context factors influence the internationalisation process in itself and its subsequent outcomes. The overall research purpose in this thesis is therefore to explore how and why the medical technology context influences new venture internationalization. I use a qualitative research method with two in-depth case studies from the medical technology sector to answer my purpose. My thesis contributes to the international entrepreneurship field in several ways. The overall contribution is to illustrate how our understanding of the internationalization process changes when we study a specific empirical context given certain particularities and distinctive factors. The most distinctive factor is that the medical technology sector is embedded in different socio-political systems across nations where the healthcare sector is a concern of each nation’s internal affairs. This means that each country and even regions within a country has its own distinctive regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive healthcare dimensions that affect both sales patterns and internationalization process. Operating in such abusiness-to-institution context leads to a complex sales process as well as a slow and focused internationalization process. The combination of industry particularities also affects the types of capabilities and networks that are critical during an international new venture’s early development. The results also show that various types of networks are needed besides business and social ones, such as scientific, institutional and opinion creating networks. In addition, the need for more specific financial, scientific and regulative capabilities is paramount to complement the technological, marketing and entrepreneurial capabilities.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Jönköping: Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, 2015. p. 130
Series
JIBS Dissertation Series, ISSN 1403-0470 ; 104
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-26365 (URN)978-91-86345-60-0 (ISBN)
Public defence
2015-04-24, B1014, Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2015-05-05 Created: 2015-04-21 Last updated: 2015-05-05Bibliographically approved

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Achtenhagen, Leona

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