Internationalisation speed and technological patterns: A panel data study on Spanish SMEs

Acceleration and Deceleration in the Internationalization Process of the Firm

“…The case histories of Yamatek and VestoBene illustrate our argument that the internationalization process, studied from the point of view of the speed of internationalization, is more complex than the literature so far has indicated. Most studies assume the process to consist of only one commitment sequence -the evolution of international sales (e.g., Khavul et al 2010;Ramos et al 2011) -and taking place at a constant speed. In order to deal with such a complex phenomenon, previous studies on speed often refer to other studies of the speed concept as though the various commitment sequences were of the same nature and perfectly comparable.…”

“…Rather, it can be described as leapfrogging, consisting of both small and big steps (Hedlund and Kverneland 1985). The second gap is to be found in the literature on speed of internationalization and concerns the over-simplification of the process; that is, most studies consider the speed of one type of international commitment only (e.g., Khavul et al 2010;Ramos et al 2011). This overlooks the diverse activities of internationalizing firms, which can be engaged not just in international sales, but also importing and different forms of investment.…”

Innovation and Internationalization of Young Entrepreneurial Firms

“…This gap is particularly surprising because (i) early works in the field of international entrepreneurship emphasize the role of innovation and technology as important drivers of early internationalization (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994;Knight and Cavusgil, 1996) and (ii) numerous studies on incumbent firms -and on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular -indicate that there is a positive relationship between innovation and internationalization at the firm level (Cassiman and Golovko, 2011;Ganotakis and Love, 2011; among others). Moreover, existing empirical studies on the relationship between innovation and the internationalization of new ventures are typically small-scale qualitative studies with findings that are not entirely conclusive (Ramos et al, 2011). In summary, the literature has not sufficiently recognized the role of innovation as a determinant of young firm internationalization.…”

“…Indeed, the acquisition of a new process technology improves productivity, product rationalization and costs (Ramos et al, 2011), which motivates firms to internationalize for several reasons. First, firms that innovate in technology are more likely to enter foreign markets "to increase sales volumes and spread the fixed costs of innovation over a larger number of units" (Pla-Barber and Alegre, 2007, p. 278).…”

“…Third, the need to exploit a proprietary technology or process internationally to set a global standard and preempt competitors is an important factor of early internationalization (McDougall and Oviatt, 1991;Bloodgood et al, 1996). There is an extensive literature that supports the effect of technology on internationalization (Ramos et al, 2011). In particular, the literature examines the probability that a firm's export behavior and performance will depend on technology.…”