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This study examines top managers’ risk perceptions in internationalization decisions. 126 CEOs and top managers responsible for internationalization in companies with headquarters in Germany, Switzerland, or Austria took part in our experiment. Applying random utility theory in a conjoint choice experiment enables the measurement of top managers’ preferences for target countries and entry modes. Country-specific measures of geographic, cultural, economic, and political distances serve as covariates to explain country preferences and to quantify the effect on internationalization decisions. Our results show that distance dimensions are the primary drivers of risk assessment, whereas entry-mode choice is secondary. Internationalization may therefore be a hierarchical decision in which managers choose target market (and risk profile) and view entry-mode choice as subordinate to other environmental factors

Network-based and knowledge-based conditions are widely regarded as important antecedents to international performance among new venture Born Globals (BGs) and their counterpart late internationalizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Yet, while studies have examined the single effects of these ingredients on BGs' and late internationalizing SMEs' international activity, a configurational approach is still missing. How do network-based and knowledge-based factors matter for international performance and do they share the same importance for both types of firms? To address these questions, we apply for the first time a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on data from managers and founders of 365 international German, Austrian, Swiss, and Liechtensteinian companies, mapping configurational paths that lead to high international performance. The results demonstrate that late internationalizers do not share the same paths as BGs for high international performance, except in one instance. We find four causal configurations for BGs and three for late internationalizing SMEs. Results show that while both groups of firms rely on network size, BGs rely much more on collaboration intensity as well as international market knowledge and education. Highlights• Late internationalizing SMEs and Born Globals (BGs) do not share the same configuration of antecedents for high international performance.• Late internationalizing SMEs have three configurational recipes for high international performance, BGs have four.

Purpose -The purpose of this article is to develop a contextualized definition of the phenomenon of rapidly internationalizing ventures (RIVs) -such as born globals or international new venturesbuilding upon the commonly noted dimensions of internationalization: speed, degree and scope. Design/methodology/approach -The study builds on a theory informed review of 62 empirical studies on RIVs from the USA and the European Union and an empirical survey among 103 academics in the field of international entrepreneurship. Findings -After specifying the core characteristics of RIVs (speed, degree, and scope of internationalization), it is shown that the discrepancies in definitions result in a dysfunctional fragmentation of empirical results. Thus, research on the phenomenon of RIVs urgently needs contextualized definitions because the three core characteristics are context-sensitive, and will therefore manifest themselves differently across contexts.Research limitations/implications -The paper contributes to international entrepreneurship research by introducing a feasible strategy for defining RIVs which ensures the identification of the very same phenomenon across different contexts, thus bridging the gap between different research contexts and enabling a common body of knowledge to evolve. Practical implications -This insight is particularly important for identifying, analyzing and understanding how managers in RIVs recognize and exploit opportunities in a global sphere and what drives their behaviour and development paths with regard to international activities. Originality/value -Based upon the theoretically-driven identification of the core characteristics of RIVs, the paper formulates the concept of contextualized definitions which enable researchers to identify the phenomenon within any specific context. These relative definitions are suitable for identifying the very same phenomenon in diverse contexts.