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International opportunity development of born global firms: The role of institutions

Romanello, Rubina, Karami, Masoud, Gerschewski, Stephan, Evers, Natasha, Xiao, Cici He (2021) International opportunity development of born global firms: The role of institutions. Critical Perspectives on International Business, . ISSN 1742-2043. (doi:10.1108/cpoib-02-2020-0013) (KAR id:88611)

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the international opportunity development process of born global firms embedded in two different institutional contexts: China, an emerging economy, and Italy, a developed country. Drawing on the entrepreneurial opportunity literature and institutional theory, this study explores and draws insights into how home country institutions of born globals can influence the international opportunity development process of the firms. Design/Methodology/Approach: We adopt a qualitative case study approach with in-depth, semi-structured interviews of six born global companies from China and Italy. In doing so, we employ a flexible pattern matching design, which is consistent with the qualitative research design of the paper. Findings: The findings of the study indicate that home institutions play an influential, yet differential role on the international opportunity development processes of Chinese and Italian born global firms. While the Italian firms shape their opportunities mainly through product innovation, their Chinese counterparts develop opportunities primarily through networks embedded in their home institutional context. Originality: The key contributions of the paper relate to an integrated analysis of the international opportunity development process of born globals in China and Italy based on institutional theory, which has received limited attention in the International Entrepreneurship (IE) literature. In addition, our study advances the similarities and differences in the international opportunity development process in two different countries, thus providing valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners to enter international markets successfully.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1108/cpoib-02-2020-0013
Uncontrolled keywords: born global firm, institutional theory, opportunity development, internationalisation, networking, product innovation
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5351 Business
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and International Business
Depositing User: Stephan Gerschewski
Date Deposited: 10 Jun 2021 03:01 UTC
Last Modified: 08 Jan 2024 21:32 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/88611 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Gerschewski, Stephan.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4976-1033
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