Born Global Firm Internationalisation: The Influence of Industry Factors

Abstract

The established literature on born global firms has tended to overlook the significance of industry factors on born global firms' internationalisation processes. This paper explores recent conceptualisations of the early internationalisation processes of born global firms and their drivers within an industry context to determine how and why industry characteristics impact the internationalisation of born global firms. Drawing on the born global literature, this study adopts an exploratory, qualitative approach. The results from a multiple case study analysis of four Australiabased born global firms suggest that industry characteristics are a critical factor influencing each firm's internationalisation decisions. The key findings include high levels of global integration motivating firms to internationalise, high levels of local competition driving the choice of international markets to improve the firm's position in its domestic market, and the choice of entry mode being determined by industry trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]