استراتژی های جهانی شدن شرکت های b2b جهانی به دنیا آمده در صنعت فن آوری بی سیم

This paper discusses the globalization process of business-to-business born globals in a rapidly growing industry, the wireless technology industry. Deviations in these patterns in regards to the mainstream pattern of internationalization and earlier born global literature are discussed. Furthermore, the roles of the founders and managers, the networks, the financial resources of the companies, and the innovations behind the companies under consideration are analyzed. A conceptual framework and propositions explaining the product, operation and market strategies of born globals are developed. The results suggest that born globals in the wireless sector do in fact deviate from the traditional internationalization process in many areas. Their expansion even to distant markets is rapid and they apply advanced product strategies at an early stage. However, their business operations are found to proceed at a more conventional pace and the notable difference from traditional firms is the rapid establishment of sales and marketing subsidiaries. Results emphasize the key role of the resources and capabilities of born globals in influencing the advancement of product categories, operation strategies, and global market presence. Born global firms were found to lack the resources and capabilities accumulated by traditionally internationalizing firms, and they therefore need to acquire them either through the earlier experience of the founding team, which should be complementary in nature, or from external domestic and international network actors.

Rapid change in the global business environment during the last few decades has had a strong impact on the internationalization processes of most companies in the world. During the 1990s a new phenomenon, ‘born global’ firms, emerged as many small and medium-sized companies started a globalization process that deviated from the mainstream of traditional internationalization processes (Knight and Cavusgil, 1996, Luostarinen and Gabrielsson, 2004, McDougall and Oviatt, 2000 and Rennie, 1993). These born global firms started their globalization immediately after establishment without any prior domestic operations or simultaneously with domestic business operations (Luostarinen & Gabrielsson, 2004). For this study, we define born globals, in line with Oviatt and McDougall (1994, p. 49), as companies that “from inception, seek to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of the resources and sales of outputs to multiple countries”. Buckley (2002), and Jones and Coviello (2005) have called for new research in international business to compare and link the results with the traditional theories, but also for a more interdisciplinary approach. Also, Knight and Cavusgil (2004) believe that there is still a need for future research to deepen our understanding of born globals. Rialp, Rialp, and Knight (2005) in their review of the first decade of born global research argue that the phenomenon still needs further investigation of the process of internationalization, and especially of the factors behind it. It has been argued that the time-based process of born globals should be understood more thoroughly (Jones & Coviello, 2005). Recent research has highlighted the importance of studying the role of resources and capabilities of the born global firms (Jones and Coviello, 2005, Knight and Cavusgil, 2004 and Moen and Servais, 2002). These views support the recommendation of Madsen and Servais (1997) to make relationships with other firms and the experience and competences of the founders a more integral part of the analysis. Based on this, it would be especially interesting to examine what are the unique capabilities and resources that enable born global firms to enter global markets rapidly. Thus, the research problem centers on how the globalization strategies of born globals differ from those of conventional firms and on determining the unique capabilities and resources that enable these deviations. To bring new understanding on born globals' behavior, earlier research (Jones, 2001) has called for more study with a narrowly defined sample of firms in an industry or geographical area. It has argued that too many surveys have been too cross-sectional, covering firms of all types, and therefore their results may not bring out all the relevant differences in globalization processes, and that a more focused approach would generate richer data for theory development. It was decided to focus on the Finnish wireless technology sector, since many successful business-to-business born globals have emerged from this sector. The objectives of the study are hence to understand the globalization strategies of business-to-business born global firms and the unique capabilities and resources enabling rapid globalization in the Finnish wireless technology sector compared with conventional firms. This research uses multiple-case study methodology (Yin, 2003) and it is based on in-depth interviews of four wireless technology born global firms originating in Finland, a small and open economy. The findings of the study are limited to the qualitative research approach and therefore one should be cautious about generalization beyond the companies studied. Nevertheless, the results are expected to be most relevant for wireless technology companies originating in small and open economies. Apart from Finland, these include countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Israel, and New Zealand. After the introduction, the article presents a theoretical review of the relevant literature concerning the internationalization of firms and born globals, as well as their resources, capabilities, and networks. Thereafter, the conceptual framework and propositions are developed. Then the methodology is presented, followed by a cross-case analysis and examination of propositions, and finally the conclusions are drawn.

This study supports earlier research on born globals and asserts that they deviate from the conventional internationalization process. Their market expansion even to distant markets is rapid and they apply advanced product strategies at an early stage. In business operations the notable difference from traditional firms business is the rapid establishment of sales and marketing subsidiaries. Also, results emphasize the key role of resources and capabilities, innovation, and the experience and networks of founders and managers in influencing the globalization strategies. The major theoretical contribution for researchers can be concluded from the conceptual framework developed. First, the framework illustrates a clear interconnection between the resources and capabilities of the company and the globalization strategies of born globals. This view was strongly supported by the empirical data. These resources and capabilities, in addition to global enablers and industry specific factors, seem to be the main explanatory factors for the development of born global companies and their globalization strategies. Second, the complementarities of the experiences and skills of the founding team were found to be a significant factor influencing positively the rapid globalization of born globals. Also, the resources necessary for global expansion may be acquired through forming links with global actors. It was found that in the early phase of globalization the role of domestic network partners is important. Later, the role of a global network became stronger. The managerial implications can also be drawn from the framework developed in this research. It depicts the critical resources and capabilities that need to be acquired at an early phase. This may indicate that when deciding on venture finance, venture capitalists need to go beyond examination of the business plan to the capability and skill level of the founders/managers. For entrepreneurs, the question boils down to a search for talent through intake of capable management and a suitable external advisory board. For governmental decision-makers, this frame indicates that a shift is required from innovation-based toward more holistic and integrated support programs, which include financial support for the entire innovation and commercialization process, training of founders/management, and support for development of the born global's network. The results should be interpreted with caution due to the exploratory nature of this study. More holistic research examining the resources impacting born global firms and their global business strategies is called for. In particular, the qualities of the founding team and the network management would seem to deserve more attention. Furthermore, the results need to be validated through more robust quantitative research and replicated in other industries and economies to explore their generalizability. It would also be interesting to extend the study from business-to-business companies to consumer companies.