A Taxonomy of Born-Global Firms

Zusammenfassung

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This study develops a taxonomy to better understand "born-global" firms, a breed of young companies that begin selling their products in foreign markets at or near the firm's founding. The study describes each firm grouping with regard to its basic orientations and the generic strategies that it applies, as well as associated international performance outcomes. Findings suggest that superior international business performance in born globals tends to be driven by entrepreneurial orientation and technological leadership, as well as the strategies of differentiation and focus. Findings are discussed with regard to their scholarly and practical implications.

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Auszug

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A Taxonomy of Born-Global Firms

Introduction

This study investigates the recent emergence and characteristics of an important type of commercial enterprise: the "Born-Global" (McKinsey & Co. 1993, Rennie 1993, Knight/Cavusgil 1996). Born globals are companies that, from or near founding, obtain a substantial portion of total revenue from sales in international markets (Rennie 1993, Oviatt/McDougall 1994, Knight/Cavusgil 1996, Knight/ Cavusgil 2004). As opposed to the typical multinational enterprise (MNE), the primary distinctive feature of the born global is that its origins and basic orientation are strongly international, as reflected by the early commitment of specific resources to generating foreign sales (e.g., Knight/Cavusgil 1996, McDougall/ Oviatt 2000, Knight/Cavusgil 2004).

The "born globals" are synonymous with "international new ventures" and "global start-ups," that is, business organisations that "from inception, seek to derive significant competitive advantages from ... the sale of outputs in multiple countries" (Oviatt/McDougall 1994, p. 49; see also McDougall/Shane/Oviatt 1994, Hordes/ Clancy/Baddaley 1995, Oviatt/McDougall 1995, Knight/Cavusgil 1996, Madsen/ Servais 1997). In reality, few of these firms are international "from inception", but most begin to sell their goods in foreign markets within the first few years after the firm's founding.

Various research projects (e.g., Wall Street Journal 1989, Lindqvist 1991, Nakamura 1992, McKinsey & Co. 1993, Rennie 1993, Nikkei Sangyoo Shimbun 1995, Knight/Cavusgil 2004) suggests that born globals have begun to appear worldwide in large numbers. In some industrialised economies such as Australia, Scandinavia, and the United States (McKinsey & Co. 1993, Business Week 1995, Moen/Servais 2002), they are estimated to account for a substantial portion of export growth. Our research identified more than 1 ,000 born globals in the United States. Of these companies, most obtain at least 25 percent of total sales from abroad within three years of founding. Other studies indicate similar findings (e.g., McKinsey & Co. 1993, Knight 1997a, Madsen/Servais 1997, Autio/Sapienza/Almeida 2000, Zahra/Ireland/ Hi« 2000).

Increas...

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