Re-internationalisation: Exploration and conceptualisation

Welch, Catherine; Welch, Lawrence S.

doi:10.1016/j.ibusrev.2009.07.003

Cited by 147 publications

(199 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Intermittent exporting must, by its nature, involve international market entry, followed by exit and subsequent re-entry: to understand fully the phenomenon of intermittent or sporadic exporters, each of these actions has to be understood. We now know a great deal about the first of these, with many studies of the exporting decision and its determinants: 1 however, we know much less about the process of exit from export markets, and even less about re-internationalization via exporting (Welch & Welch, 2009). The conceptual and empirical analysis below concentrates on this process of exit and (conditional) re-entry, the characteristics that define intermittent exporters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining intermittent exporting: Exit and conditional re-entry in export markets

Bernini

Love

2016

J Int Bus Stud

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Intermittent exporting is something of a puzzle. In theory, exporting represents a major commitment, and is often the starting point for further internationalization. However, intermittent exporters exit and subsequently re-enter exporting, sometimes frequently. We develop a conceptual model to explain how firm characteristics and market conditions interact to affect the decision to exit and re-enter exporting, and model this process using an extensive dataset of French manufacturing firms from 1997 to 2007. As anticipated, smaller and less productive firms are more likely to exit exporting, and react more strongly to changes in both domestic and foreign markets than larger firms. Exit and re-entry are closely linked. Firms with a low exit probability also have a high likelihood of re-entry, and vice versa. However, the way in which firms react to market conditions at the time of exit matters greatly in determining the likelihood of re-entry: thus re-entry depends crucially on the strategic rationale for exit. Our analysis helps explain the opportunistic and intermittent exporting of (mainly) small firms, the demand conditions under which intermittent exporting is most likely to occur, and the firm attributes most likely to give rise to such behavior.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining intermittent exporting: Exit and conditional re-entry in export markets

Bernini

Love

2016

J Int Bus Stud

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“…In a recent analysis of 'reinternationalization', Welch and Welch (2009) point out that firms often engage in relatively intermittent exporting for extended periods, and that sporadic exporting is commonplace among UK SMEs without either entry or exit from export markets being a coherent strategy (Crick 2003). Similar results have been found for Italian SMEs, with repeated, serial entry and exit to and from export markets being relatively commonplace, and firms taking time to build up the experience and internal assets necessary to make export market entry a clear strategic decision (Bonaccorsi 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crick 2003Crick , 2004, suggest that learning by exporting effects should be extended to include the experiences gained from sporadic and intermittent exporting behaviour. Learning by exporting is ultimately a form of learning by doing, and this can also involve absorbing the lessons of intermittent or even failed attempts at selling abroad (Crick 2004;Welch and Welch 2009). Policymakers may therefore have to re-evaluate the potential value of export support given to SMEs, allowing for the beneficial learning effects that may arise from relatively sporadic exporting, especially in high-tech markets.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning by exporting: Lessons from high-technology SMEs

Love

Ganotakis

2013

International Business Review

185

130

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Theory points to the existence of a 'learning by exporting effect', in which exposure to export markets enhances performance through exposure to the knowledge stocks of trading partners. We investigate the learning by exporting hypothesis by examining the effect of exporting on the subsequent innovation performance of UK high-tech SMEs. We find evidence of learning by exporting, but the pattern of this effect is relatively complex. Exporting helps high-tech SMEs innovate subsequently, but does not make them more innovation intensive. There is also evidence that it is consistent exposure to export markets that helps firms overcome the innovation hurdle, but that there is a positive scale effect of exposure to export markets which allows innovative firms to sell more of their new-to-market products on entering export markets. Service sector firms are able to reap the benefits of exposure to export markets at an earlier (entry) stage of the internationalization process than are manufacturing firms. Firms producing a rapidly changing portfolio of innovative products exhibit higher 'churn' in terms of entry to and exit from export markets than low-intensity innovators, and this is reflected in the effects of entry and exit into and out of such markets.

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“…Since early and frequent experience with an organizational change increases its reoccurrence (Amburgey, Kelly, & Barnett, 1993), the destabilization associated with the pursuit of international opportunities is likely to be more severe when internationalization occurs rarely and later in a firm's existence. Yet we have little understanding of how older internationalizers overcome domestic path dependencies (see Autio, 2005) and why some firms reinternationalize after withdrawal while others do not (Crick, 2004;Welch & Welch, 2009).…”

Section: Beyond Categorizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond categorization: New directions for theory development about entrepreneurial internationalization

2017

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Categorizations emphasizing the earliness of internationalization have long been a cornerstone of international entrepreneurship research. Here we contend that the prominence of categories has not been commensurate with theory development associated with them. We draw on categorization theory to explain why earliness-based categories are persistent, and argue that a greater focus on notions related to opportunity can open new avenues of research about the entrepreneurial internationalization of business. We propose and discuss three directions for opportunity-based research on entrepreneurial internationalization, involving context, dynamics and variety.

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Re-internationalisation: Exploration and conceptualisation

Cited by 147 publications

References 44 publications

Explaining intermittent exporting: Exit and conditional re-entry in export markets

Explaining intermittent exporting: Exit and conditional re-entry in export markets

Learning by exporting: Lessons from high-technology SMEs

Beyond categorization: New directions for theory development about entrepreneurial internationalization

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