A longitudinal look at the international entrepreneurship dimensions: cases and predictions

International new ventures or born globals have been studied and discussed broadly as regards their start-up, mainly trying to define and examine some key dimensions of their internationalisation process (i.e. intensity or degree, speed, and scope of internationalisation). The drivers of the phenomenon have been investigated but rarely have they been related to the above key dimensions and tracked throughout time. In general, the dynamics of long-term internationalisation remain underresearched. Further work therefore is required to give insight into the strategic options and consolidation of the born global initial trajectory. This would help SME’s decision makers to choose between different strategies and contribute to theory building. The objective of the current paper is to investigate which factors are important regarding the dimensions of speed, scope and intensity along the born global life cycle. A conceptual framework is developed and matched against the findings of two case studies. The companies under investigation are internet-based, as they rely on the Internet as their only selling platform. In the e-business, firms are expected to be “naturally” born global (Kobrin, 2001). Our findings do not fully support this view and highlight the role of resources and capabilities in differentiated growth patterns, irrespectively of the industry (Rumelt, 1991). In line with these results, the role of the Internet as an internationalisation enabler over time depends on its strategic use and its embeddedness in business processes.