The coauthors wish to acknowledge the contribution of the entire X-Culture team: Without the hard work the 141 instructors and thousands of students do every day, the X-Culture Project in general and this study in particular would not be possible. We also would like to acknowledge the support of our many corporate partners, including Gramedia, Lidaris, Innospark, and Caja de Burgos, whose involvement makes the project more meaningful and educational for our students.
However, although the dynamics of physical flows are currently moderate, globalization is not slowing down. On the contrary, many flows of data continuously move across borders and their volume has increased considerably. As a result, globalization is dematerializing and redefining itself with the faster pace of these information and data exchanges. In this context, digital technologies and platforms have been created to reach new markets, serving to resize the economics of crossborder business, notably by reducing costs, shortening transactions and increasing market knowledge through greater interactions. In other words, as outlined by Manyika and colleagues (2016), digital globalization is changing who is participating, how business is done across borders, how rapidly competition moves, and where the economic benefits are flowing.To date, research has clearly demonstrated that in order to make a difference in foreign markets, companies need to adopt an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) by being innovative, proactive, and risk-taking in their decisions. Because emerging technologies are creating more fluidity and nonlinearity in entrepreneurial processes
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that influence so-called born-again global firms’ internationalization behavior. Specifically, this article explores the following questions: why do mature, domestically focused firms suddenly turn into born-again global firms, how do they do so and what elements are needed for born-again global firms to be sustainable.
Design/methodology/approach
– Using an established international entrepreneurship model as a starting point, we extract relevant factors for a conceptual framework on born-again global firms’ internationalization activities. Case study research among a cross-sectional sample of born-again global firms is being applied for that purpose.
Findings
– Driven by the insufficient size of their domestic market, born-again global firms typically embark on internationalization after a generational change at the chief executive officer level. Throughout their internationalization journey, they flexibly adapt toward new needs of their foreign environments. Due to their idiosyncratic characteristics, born-again global firms deserve consideration as a separate group of research objects in the field of international entrepreneurship.
Research limitations/implications
– The investigated sample of case study firms was drawn across a variety of industries. As such, industry-specific conditions could not be observed and the findings from case study research run the risks of being generalized too broadly. In addition, the accuracy of the case study results may suffer from a certain degree of hindsight bias as the internationalization event took place in the past.
Practical implications
– Openness to learning from other markets and the flexibility to modify products according to client needs strengthen born-again global firms’ competitiveness. To endure, born-again global firms have to be innovative in adapting to changes, which makes it easier for them to launch their products in new markets.
Originality/value
– To date, international entrepreneurship has focused on the activities of small and newly established firms, largely neglecting the behavior of somewhat larger and established firms in traditional sectors. This study shows that established companies can exhibit the same innovative, proactive and risk-seeking behavior across borders as new ventures do. Despite their strongly rooted structures, strategies and cultures, born-again globals can flexibly adapt to new environments.
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