مفهوم سازی درک ریسک الکترونیکی و پیامدهایی برای بین المللی شدن شرکت های کوچک آنلاین فعال

A sound conceptualization of international e-risks has grown in demand, because of the increasing penetration of the Internet, and specifically the enabling-facility of the Internet technology for small firms. Yet, to date, there has been no study explicitly attempting to build an international business risk framework for the online environment, nor to explain online internationalization decisions. The purpose of the present paper is threefold, (1) to combine and complement the existing traditional international risk constructs and the emerging views on e-business risks into a comprehensive and unified international risk framework for the online context; (2) to develop propositions regarding SMEs’ active online internationalization decisions by drawing on Dunning's OLI framework; and (3) to explore the online–offline risk trade-off inherent in online internationalization decisions by integrating the e-risk framework into the eclectic paradigm.

With growing competitive pressures, companies are increasingly deploying the Internet as a strategic tool (Ching and Ellis, 2004 and Porter, 2001). The use of information and communication technology (ICT) not only impacts on communication, control and collaboration processes (Jean and Sinkovics, 2010, Jean et al., 2010a, Jean et al., 2008, Jean et al., 2010b and Yamin and Sinkovics, 2007), it also promises a fast-track option of international expansion (Sinkovics & Penz, 2005). The deliberate use of ICT for internationalization purposes is termed “internetalization” by Bell, Deans, Ibbotson, and Sinkovics (2001) and “active online internationalization” (AOI) by Yamin and Sinkovics (2006). It is a form of foreign market entry which takes place “in the virtual rather than the real or spatial domain” ( Yamin & Sinkovics, 2006, p. 340). Consequently, companies opting for this mode of entry have no equity based market presence in the host country. While active online internationalization is possible for both large and small firms, especially in the initial stages of internationalization, small firms are more likely to adopt this mode of market entry ( Bennett, 1997). Thus, in this paper we exclusively focus on small and medium-sized firms engaging in AOI. To date, research on the phenomenon of active online internationalization is limited. International business (IB) deals with a multitude of contingencies in its external environment and is thus considered inherently risky (Shrader, Oviatt, & Phillips McDougall, 2000). Therefore, the online analogue to traditional physical exchange also exposes firms to an array of risks (Scott, 2004, Viehland, 2001 and Wat et al., 2005). While some of these risks are only relevant in the online context, others have their origins in the traditional international business environment. Even though many risks belonging to the latter category are regarded less relevant for companies predominantly doing business in the virtual domain, they need to be carefully examined, as due to their latent nature they might still affect these companies in a different and/or less visible way. Understanding international risk in both its traditional and virtual forms is crucial for three reasons: (a) the conscious and controlled handling of risks can be seen as a capability and thus represents an important source of sustainable competitive advantage (Barney, 1991); (b) the lack of a thorough risk assessment can not only deprive a business of future profits but might also lead to complete business failure; (c) companies’ entry mode choice has been found to be contingent on the level of perceived risk in the target country (Brouthers, 1995). Despite this background, however, the international business literature not only lacks an extensive international e-risk framework, there is also little known about the factors influencing online internationalization. While there are studies speculating on the potential advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce adoption, as well as on the Internet's impact on the internationalization process and existing export marketing theories (e.g. Gregory et al., 2007 and Karavdic and Gregory, 2005), the literature lacks a conceptual framework that explicitly details the reasons for online market entry choice over more traditional entry modes. This paper has three main objectives. Firstly, it aims at combining and complementing the existing traditional international risk constructs and the emerging views on e-business risks into a comprehensive and unified international risk framework for the online context. Secondly, it seeks to develop propositions for future research which help to explain why SMEs’ opt for active online internationalization. For this, we draw on Dunning's (1980) OLI framework and more recent work that examined the extent to which the eclectic paradigm of international production, and its composite theories, can help in the online domain (Dunning & Wymbs, 2001). Thirdly, it endeavors to explore the online–offline risk trade-off inherent in online internationalization decisions by integrating the e-risk framework into the eclectic paradigm. The OLI framework was selected for three distinct reasons, i.e. (1) its explanatory value for traditional entry mode choice has a sound track-record (e.g. Brouthers et al., 1996 and Dunning and Wymbs, 2001); (2) its relevance has been successfully tested for SME entry mode decisions; and (3) traditional international (offline) risks are a building block of the existing OLI framework. To this end, integrating e-risks in the existing OLI framework helps to demonstrate the online–offline risk trade-off in internationalization decisions. The main contributions of the paper thus are the conceptualization of e-risks in international business and the exploration of the latent online–offline risk trade-off in small firm online internationalization decisions by drawing on the eclectic paradigm. The structure of the paper is as follows: Section 2 starts with a theoretical discussion of the role of ICT for small versus large firm internationalization followed by the introduction of the e-risk framework and its implications for small firm internationalization. Section 3 presents our propositions for future research. Section 4 concludes by considering implications and limitations.

Combining the extant international business, risk management and e-commerce literatures, this paper aimed at proposing a multidimensional international e-risk framework and integrating it into a larger conceptual framework to explain SMEs’ online market entry decisions. For this purpose we chose Dunning's (2001) OLI framework as it has already demonstrated considerable explanatory value for SMEs’ traditional internationalization decisions in the physical domain. As our main focus was on the nature of international e-risks and how perceptions of these may influence online internationalization decisions we did not aim to develop a completely new model. Instead, we adopted and extended the OLI framework and built on existing work on the explanation of small firm internationalization decisions by Nakos and Brouthers (2002). The fact that the OLI framework has been already extensively researched in international business simultaneously represents an advantage and a limitation. As its components are widely known it represents a comprehensive context for the integration of the international e-risk dimensions. Thus it can be deemed as a valuable first step in the development of a new and potentially more comprehensive model which future research may consider. Future work may also test the relationship of constructs in a comprehensive nomological network. Overall, it is suggested that firms opting for an OLI-predicted entry mode will exhibit a better export performance than firms for which the OLI framework foresees a different internationalization strategy. The international e-risk framework in this article not only attempts to integrate traditional international business risks into emerging e-commerce risk constructs, but it is also suggested to have a moderating effect on managerial decisions for online entry as well as on the relationship between OLI-predicted entry form and export performance. The framework also allows for a comparison of the effects of traditional international risk perceptions (Brouthers, 1995) and international e-risk perceptions on entry mode decisions which we term the “online–offline risk trade-off”. While traditional international risks are a constituent of the OLI framework and have a direct influence on managerial decisions, international e-risks (especially traditional IB risks) are suggested as acting as moderators partly due to their unexplored nature. We have indicated that owner-managers may perceive operational and online media risks more relevant for online internationalization than traditional IB risks. Future work is required to operationalize and empirically test the proposed conceptual framework, but also to examine how international e-risk perceptions change with increased e-commerce experience over time. Furthermore, the proposed framework only addresses the initial market entry mode decision and does not consider changes throughout later stages of a firm's internationalization process. To this end, future research may wish to examine the entire decision sequence and apply behavioral models of firm internationalization such as the Uppsala model. Despite its conceptual nature the present paper points to implications of high managerial relevance. The latency of certain risk dimensions and the considerable time-lag between their activation and their visible effects calls for an integrated risk management. Examples of poor risk assessment consequences include overly optimistic numbers in an e-company's business plan potentially resulting in negative long-term effects on its financing. Furthermore, ignoring or under-estimating certain risks can result in faulty contingency plans leading to business discontinuity, major financial losses, or complete business failure. Thus, awareness of the potential risks in online internationalization represents the first step in effective online risk management.