Cooperation as a Mediator between Entrepreneurial Competences and Internationalization of New Venture

Abstract

Most entrepreneurs have adequate knowledge and skills, however, they lack internal resources for commercialization of products on foreign markets. This group of entrepreneurs recognizes the chance through collaboration with other organizations, ensuring the engagement of new technologies that contribute to fast and early commercialization on the global market. The focus of this research is related to the analysis of the influence of entrepreneurs' competences on cooperation with the other organization as well as on the internationalization of a new business venture. In order to provide deeper insight, the subject of research is also expanded with the field of new technology usage, as a moderator variable, to consider its role of strengthening the relationship between cooperation with other organizations and internationalization of a new venture. This paper aims to analyse the impact of entrepreneurial competences based on knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) on cooperation with the other organization as well as mediating influence of cooperation with other organizations on internationalization of a new venture, in the South East Europe region. The main source of data in this study is the GEM research database for 2013. For this research, the authors included six countries in the research sample of the South East Europe region: Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and FYR of Macedonia. The results of path analyses of Structure Equation Modelling indicate a positive direct and indirect impact of entrepreneurial intentions on cooperation and internationalization of a new venture. Results also indicate that the usage of new technologies, as a moderator variable, strengthens the relationship between cooperation and internationalization of a new venture.

Exploring the Potential of Open Innovation for Co-Creation in Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review

“…This collaboration can encompass knowledge, resources, and skills among different parties, including companies, suppliers, customers, local authorities, universities, and governments (Allal-Chérif et al 2023). This enables entrepreneurial ventures to obtain resources that they may not possess but are essential for their development (Leković et al 2020). It becomes an instrument that facilitates the participation of ventures in the global market.…”

“…Additionally, some companies and corporate accelerators associate with start-ups to conduct innovation contests (Bettenmann 2023), and other partners with governments or external competitors to access resources more quickly (Markovic et al 2021). The primary objective of these interactions is to strengthen their existing knowledge base and exchange knowledge (Torres de Oliveira et al 2022;Leković et al 2020), as well as develop platforms that foster value creation and collaboration (Ahsan and Musteen 2021).…”

“…The development of social creativity through knowledge combination was also highlighted; Secundo et al (2020) suggested that combining different perspectives and insights can foster social creativity, resulting in new and inventive ways of approaching challenges. Moreover, other researchers have identified positive effects concerning product sustainability and innovation (Leković et al 2020;Markovic et al 2020;Milana 2022;Del-Aguila-Arcentales et al 2022). This could involve the integration of environmentally friendly practices, the optimization of resource utilization, and the generation of novel ideas for products that align with current market trends and consumer preferences.…”

“…Collaborative efforts mutually benefit organizations and expose them to innovative business practices and technological knowledge. Regarding internationalization, these processes aid in rapid and early market commercialization on a global scale (Leković et al 2020;Zahoor et al 2022) and serve as instruments for the development of global policies (Leckel et al 2020), given the promotion of social, technological, and organizational proximity. A synthesis of the main benefits of open innovation and co-creation for entrepreneurial ventures found in the 53 consulted articles is presented in Table 3.…”

Determinants of Social Entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe: GEM Data Analysis

“…In recent years, the number of works focused on the discipline of entrepreneurship increased [1][2][3][4]. Research in the field of entrepreneurship includes different perspectives.…”