Organisational Learning in Startup Development and International Growth

Abstract

Objective: This article explores the conceptual link between the development stages of a startup and organisational learning with the aim to conceptualise the practices of organisational learning levels emerging in specific life cycle stages of a global startup.

Research Design & Methods: This article presents a review as well as a synthesis of the extant literature. The research integrates the theories of organisational learning and international entrepreneurship, and offers a conceptual framework that reveals interactions between the constructs in question.

Findings: The results suggest that the ontological level and the processes of organisation learning can vary in global startups at different life cycle stages. In addition, the research findings also indicate that, for a global startup, for a successful transition from one cycle to another, learning processes of cyclical entrepreneurship learning have to take place.

Implications & Recommendations: The findings of the study have implications in particular for global startup founders and their team members who would like to establish entrepreneurial businesses. Organisation learning practices should be applied in enterprises from the very beginning of the bootstrapping phase with the goal to develop a culture of learning and sharing knowledge when developing the startup idea.

Contribution & Value Added: The originality of this work lies in proposing a conceptual framework that examines the organisational learning in startup development and international growth and a set of important considerations for further research, as well as contributing to the literature on international entrepreneurship.

Keywords

startup, international growth, startup life cycle/startup development cycle, organisational learning

Supplementary File(s)

Author Biography

Jurgita Sekliuckiene

Professor of International Business and head of International Entrepreneurship research cluster at the Kaunas University of Technology. She received her PhD in Management and Business Administration from the Kaunas University of Technology. Her research interests are in the area of internationalisation, international entrepreneurship and innovation, networks, export strategies with a special interest in transition market INVs and multinationals. She is the author and co-author of conference contributions, over 40 peer-reviewed publications, and several books and monographs chapters in the field of international business, strategic management and emerging markets. She is a member of Academy of International Business (AIB) and European International Business Academy (EIBA).

Rimgaile Vaitkiene

Professor at School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology. Her research interests include strategic marketing,  innovation, knowledge management,  business and management methodology.

Vestina Vainauskiene

Bachelor of Management and Business Administration (Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania); Master in Management and Business Administration (Kaunas University of Tech-nology, Lithuania); PhD in Management, Social sciences (Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania). Her research interests include entrepreneurial future foresight methodologies and consumer knowledge management.

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