Looking Inside Born Globals and International New Ventures: Strategic Orientations for International Growth

The concept of strategy is central to the effectiveness and competitiveness of any organisation (Evered, 1983, Porter, 1980). Strategic orientation (SO) encompasses the adaptation and positioning of a firm’s internal resources, capabilities and activities, and combinations thereof, both to deflect threats and to exploit opportunities present in the firm’s external environment (Venkatraman, 1989; Teece, Pisano, and Shuen, 1997; Manu and Sriram, 1996; Lado, Boyd, and Wright, 1992). Following Venkatraman’s (1989) seminal work, SO has evolved into a multi-dimensional concept, culminating in a body of knowledge of related research examining various constructs on firm performance and growth. In particular, such studies have lent significant focus to the firm’s marketing orientation and entrepreneurial orientation, followed by research on other firm orientations related to learning, innovation, technological and sales aspects (Hakala, 2011).

SO has been a concept widely used in the research field of strategic management, entrepreneurship and marketing, yet to a lesser degree in the field of international entrepreneurship. Further, empirical attention on strategic orientations in firms has been predominately directed towards large enterprises (Jaworski and Kohli 1993; Pelham and Wilson 1995), with limited research coverage on SMEs, and more so internationalizing SMEs and BGs/INVs. Many questions emerge regarding the benefits for international entrepreneurs/managers of adopting various strategic orientations, and the ways in which firms can go about managing and aligning their organisational practices with their international operations. Likewise, serious questions have been raised about the ‘universal utility’ of various strategic orientations for Born Globals (BGs) and International New Ventures (INVs) operating in different countries (e.g., Ellis 2007; Cadogan et al. 2009). Exploring any of the well-established types of strategic orientations in the context of international entrepreneurship warrants further research (Covin and Miller, 2014).

Although few, studies in the field of IE have focused on the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation and (export) market orientation (EO/MO) and INV performance (Bing and Zhengping, 2011; Evers, 2011; Boso, Story and Cadogan, 2013; Martin and Javalgi, 2016). Marketing orientation has been definitively linked to multiple areas of firm strategy and business performance. Studies examining EO in BGs/INVs have clearly highlighted the importance of the founder’s global vision and proactive mindset to be reflected strongly across organizational characteristics and operations (Knight and Cavusgil, 2004; Coviello, 2015). Nevertheless, much of the existing research on marketing orientation in international entrepreneurship has focused on the external environment rather than on the firm’s internal environment, thus widening the knowledge gap on the role of EO and MO for international performance and growth of BGs/INVs.

The purpose of this special issue is to shed new light on the nature of strategic orientations adopted by BGs/INVs and their respective impacts on their international growth and performance. We invite researchers to submit conceptual and empirical papers on any issue that addresses strategic orientations in BGs/INVs. Specifically, this issue invites papers that advance knowledge on the internal environment under which strategic orientations emerge, develop, interact, and are implemented by BGs/INVs. We do not expect submitted papers to deal with all types of strategic orientations simultaneously: researchers could focus on just one or two orientations (e.g. market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, innovation orientation) and explore their impact(s). It would be also interesting for papers to further highlight the problems and challenges associated with enacting specific strategic orientations in BGs/INVs and their impact on growth.  Other interesting inquiries can address the circumstances in the firm’s internal environment under which several strategic orientations develop and how such processes differ in BGs/INVs, as compared to other contexts. Consequently, potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Defining, adapting, and measuring international strategic orientations in BGs/INVs.
• Levels of analysis of strategic orientation in international entrepreneurship research.
• Antecedents to and conditions that enable and disable the adoption and implementation of international strategic orientations.
• Different international strategic orientations and their consequential impact on performance of BGs/INVs (e.g. international performance, innovation)
• Conceptual and empirical discrepancies across strategic orientations at an international level.
• Interactions between multiple strategic (entrepreneurial, market, learning, technological) orientations in response to international opportunities for entrepreneurial internationalization (BGs, INVs, etc.).
• Similarities and differences in strategic orientations across domestic/international market operations.
• The role of industry and environment in international strategic orientation
• The relationship between national culture and strategic orientation of BGs/INVs.
• Strategic orientation in Born Global digital ventures
• The relationship between strategic orientation and business model development and implementation in BGs/INVs/
• International strategic orientation(s), early internationalization, and foreign entry mode selection (e.g. Internet; foreign agents and distributors, JVs, FDI, alliances and/or networks).
• International strategic orientation(s) and international marketing strategy in BGs/INVs (e.g., standardization, adaptation, etc.)
• Profiling BGs/INVs versus firms internationalizing gradually based on the constituent elements of one or more international strategic orientations (e.g., forms of export market orientation).

Please visit the Journal of International Entrepreneurship website for format and styling and submit papers online to the journal no later than 31 July 2018.

https://link.springer.com/journal/10843

Notes for Prospective Authors:

Submitted contributions should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Papers are refereed through the journal’s double-blind peer-review process.

A guide for authors is available on http://jien.edmgr.com.

Important Dates: 


The deadline for submission is: 31 July 2018 for publication in early 2020 of the journal.

Please submit to the Journal of International Entrepreneurship at http://jien.edmgr.com,  click on Submit a New Manuscript, select: Article Type and continue onward.

Editor in Chief: Hamid Etemad

E-mail: hamid.etemad@mcgill.ca

Guest Editors:

Natasha Evers

Marketing Discipline, J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway

Email: natasha.evers@nuigalway.ie       

Gabriela Gliga

Marketing Discipline, J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway.  

Email: gabriela.gliga@nuigalway.ie

Alex Rialp-Criado

Department of Business, School of Economics and Business, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain

E-mail: Alex.Rialp@uab.cat

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