Innovation and internationalization on the competitiveness of exporting firms

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to build a new theoretical model from the interaction between two theoretical approaches. This model can explain the development of organizational innovations from a specific type of knowledge that the firm generate when they face internationalization process. Also, the model shows the effects of the innovations on the performance and competitiveness of the firm. Design/methodology/approach Based on the literature review, this study connects empirical evidence in two aspects. First, the development of institutional knowledge from experiential learning of the firm in foreign markets. Second, the influence of organizational innovations on the market performance in exporting firms from South American emerging economies. Findings The main finding of this study is that the connection between two theoretical perspectives, internationalization process and innovation, it is possible by the international entrepreneurship (IE) field, because IE establishes that the opportunities are in international borders and the firms exploit these opportunities when they build new experiential knowledge associated with institutional conditions in foreign markets. And then, the firms are able to create product innovations and services innovations from this knowledge. Originality/value This study shows the theoretical base for explaining that in South American emerging economies the exporting firms can build their competitive advantages based on innovations that arise when they do business in foreign markets.

International trade and innovation: delving in Latin American commerce

“…The aim of this research is to link international trade with technological innovation and find out whether the analysis of Latin America countries, as a region, comparing it with advanced countries and also with BRICs countries (Brazil remains as part of Latin America), using a triple indexed gravity model, correcting with robust standardized errors clustered, and compare the findings with technological innovation, taking patent presentation as a proxy for this parameter (Silva et al, 2017;Pino, 2018), because it implies that more knowledge is available, independently of whether it was developed in the country or not. In that sense, this is a prospective study because, even though gravity models have been widely used lately, they either focus on different variables or remain in the two-way model.…”

The Impact of Breakthrough Innovations on the Export Performance of SMEs in Developing Countries: The Moderating Role of Institutional Factors

“…Studies confirm that innovation strategies and technology enable firms to expand and compete internationally ( Amankwah-Amoah et al, 2018 ; Bortoluzzi et al, 2018 ; Pino Soto, 2018 ; Donbesuur et al, 2020 ; Vuorio et al, 2020 ). For instance, researchers have argued that formulating new technological strategies and adopting present ones are critical for firms’ productivity and the knowledge economy ( Wamboye et al, 2015 ; Wong, 2015 ; Schniederjans, 2017 ).…”

Guest editorial

“…Joining ongoing discussions within the same research streams makes the dissemination of their findings easier and hopefully contributes to an increase in the level of citations. The majority of the articles are concerned with internationalization influences researching the impact of the industry, knowledge, and the institutional environment on internationalization (Larios-Hernandez, 2018; Pino Soto, 2018; Torkkeli and Fuerst, 2018), others take on a network perspective to study the internationalization outcome (Brache, 2018; Baier-Fuentes et al , 2018), while one article is concerned with the dynamics of internationalization researching the factors promoting a continued export process over time (Etchebarne and Torres, 2018). Third, publishing the articles in English and through Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración which is indexed and ranked by the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) (Clarivate Analytics) and Scopus, we hope the articles presented within the special issue reach a wider audience on a more global scale which equally contributes to a better dissemination of the research results stemming from Latin America.…”

“…Whereas Larios-Hernandez (2018) focuses on the influence of industry on internationalization, Pino Soto (2018) examine knowledge influences and their role for internationalization. Knowledge is an important predictor for early and rapid internationalization (Jones et al , 2011).…”

“…Knowledge about international markets comprises three dimensions (Eriksson et al , 1997): foreign business knowledge (customers, competitors, distributors), foreign institutional knowledge (business laws, cultural norms, regulatory standards, language skills), and internationalization knowledge (ability to develop and implement an internationalization strategy, how to knowledge). Pino Soto (2018) consider markets in Latin America a fertile ground for researching institutional knowledge influences due to the volatility of institutional factors in many of these countries. The authors link the development of innovations in small South American firms to the acquisition of institutional knowledge gained by doing business in international markets.…”