Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Internal and External Learning Races in Born Transnationals: What are the Driving Forces?

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2014.020103

Abstract

This paper investigates an under-researched type of “born transnationals” as young transnational companies. “Born transnationals” are equipped with specific governance structures that may accelerate the internationalization process based on organizational learning. In this vein, the research question of the paper is: What are the core drivers of organizational learning in case of “born transnationals”?

Based on a model of organizational learning, we present and check a model-based set of structured research propositions of the learning process of “born transnationals”. The propositions undergo a first reality check by developing two case studies based on semi-structured interviews.

Empirical evidence challenges the role of some factors (e.g. the role of international experience and proactivity of entrepreneurs) well-elaborated in literature and examines whether others (e.g. transactive knowledge) play a pivotal role. Against this background, some of the proposed causalities were to be modified and specified.

The findings suggest that organizational learning in born transnationals requires social capital and a particular type of learning culture. Moreover, entrepreneurs are well advised to foster the transfer of knowledge among the people in the company as far as possible to turn the 'wheel of knowledge'.

The paper portrays a new type of born globals, introduces a new model and develops first causal structures in this context. It identifies and specifies drivers of learning processes of the “born transnationals” archetype.

 

Keywords

international new ventures, born transnationals, organizational learning, absorptive capacity, transactive knowledge

PDF

Author Biography

Jörg Freiling

Full Professor of entrepreneurship at the LEMEX Chair in Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Business Studies and Economics at the University of Bremen (Germany).

Mareike Zimmermann

PhD Student at the Faculty for Business Studies and Economics at the University of Bremen
(Germany).


References

  1. Argyris, C., & Schoen, D.A. (1996). Organizational Learning II. Theory, Method, and Practice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
  2. Bartlett, C.A., & Beamish, P.W. (2011). Transnational Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  3. Bartlett, C.A., & Ghoshal, S. (1989). Managing across borders: The transnational solution. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
  4. Bass, B.M., Avolio, B.J., Jung, D.I., & Berson, Y. (2003). Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 207-218.
  5. Birkinshaw, J. (1997). Entrepreneurship in multinational corporations: The characteristics of subsidiary initiatives. Strategic Management Journal, 18(3), 207-229.
  6. Bontis, N., Crossan, M.M., & Hulland, J. (2002). Managing an organizational learning system by aligning stocks and flows. Journal of Management Studies, 39(4), 437-469.
  7. Brauner, E., & Becker, A. (2006). Beyond knowledge sharing: the management of transactive knowledge systems. Knowledge and Process Management, 13(1), 62-71.
  8. Brauner, E. (2002). Transactive knowledge systems in groups and organizations. Berlin: HUB Press.
  9. Cavusgil, S.T., & Knight, G. (2009). Born Global Firms: A New International Enterprise. New York: Business Expert Press.
  10. Cohen, W.M., & Levinthal, D.A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128-152.
  11. Cooper, A.C. (1981). Strategic management: new ventures and small business. Long Range Planning A, 14(5), 39-45.
  12. Coviello, N. (2006). The network dynamics of international new ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 713-731.
  13. Crossan, M.M., & Bedrow, I. (2003). Organizational learning and strategic renewal. Strategic Management Journal, 24(11), 1087-1105.
  14. Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
  15. Crossan, M.M., Lane, H.W., & White, R.E. (1999). An organizational learning framework: From intuition to institution. Academy of Management Journal, 24(3), 522-537.
  16. Dodgson, M. (1993). Organizational Learning: A review of some literature. Organization Studies, 14(3), 375-394.
  17. Easterby-Smith, M., & Lyles, M.A. (2011), Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management. 2nd ed., Chichester: Wiley.
  18. Ellis, H.C. (1965). The Transfer of Learning. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  19. Evers, N. (2011). Why do new ventures internationalize? A review of the literature of factors that influence new venture internationalisation. The Irish Journal of Management, 30(2), 17-46.
  20. Freiling, J., & Fichtner, H. (2010). Organizational culture as the glue between people and organization: A competence-based view on learning and competence building. German Journal of Research in Human Resource Management, 24(2), 152-172.
  21. Gaglio, C.M., & Katz, J.A. (2001). The psychological basis of opportunity identification: Entrepreneurial alertness. Small Business Economics, 16(2), 95-111.
  22. Gartner, W.B., Bird, N., & Starr, J. (1992). Acting as if: Differentiating entrepreneurial from organizational behaviour. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 16(3), 13-31.
  23. Harveston, P.D., Kedia, B.L., & Davis, P.S. (2000). Internationalization of born global and gradual globalizing firms. Advances in Competitiveness Research, 8(1), 92-99.
  24. Hedlund, G. (1986). The hypermodern MNC - a heterarchy?, Human Resource Management, 25(1), 9-35.
  25. Jansen, J.J.P., Vera, D., & Crossan, M.M. (2009). Strategic leadership for exploration and exploitation: The moderating role of environmental dynamism. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(1), 5-18.
  26. Knight, G., & Cavusgil, S.T. (1996). The born global: a challenge to traditional internationalization theory. Advances in International Marketing, 8, 11-26.
  27. Knight, G., & Cavusgil, S.T. (2004). Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born-global firm. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(2), 124-141.
  28. Knight, G., Madsen, T.K., & Servais, P. (2004). An inquiry into born-global firms in Europe and the USA. International Marketing Review, 21(6), 645-665.
  29. Lane, P.J., Koka, B.R., & Pathak, S. (2006). The reification of absorptive capacity: A critical review and rejuvenation of the construct. Academy of Management Review, 31(4), 833-863.
  30. Madsen, T.K., & Servais, P. (1997). The internationalization of born globals: an evolutionary process?, International Business Review, 6(6), 561-583.
  31. March, J.G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71-87.
  32. McDougall, P.P., Shane, S., & Oviatt, B.M. (1994). Explaining the formation of international new ventures: The limits of theories from international business research. Journal of Business Venturing, 9(6), 469-487.
  33. Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. (1998). Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through the Wilds of Strategic Management. New York: Free Press.
  34. Ouchi, W.G. (1982). Theory Z: How American business can meet the Japanese challenge. New York: Avon Books.
  35. Oviatt, B.M., & McDougall, P.P. (1994). Toward a theory of international new ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 25(1), 45-64.
  36. Rugman, A., Verbeke, A., & Yuan, W. (2011). Re-conceptualizing Bartlett and Ghoshal's Classification of National Subsidiary Roles in the Multinational Enterprise. Journal of Management Studies, 48(2), 253-277.
  37. Senge, P.M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday.
  38. Simon, H. (2009). Hidden Champions of the 21st Century. New York: Springer.
  39. Snow, C.C., Snell, S.A., Davison, S.C., & Hambrick,D.C. (1996). Use transnational teams to globalize your company. Organizational Dynamics, 24(4), 50-67.
  40. Sosik, J.L., Avolio, B.J., & Kahai, S.S. (1997). Effects of leadership style and anonymity on group potency and effectiveness in a group decision support system environment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(1), 89-103.
  41. Sun, P.Y.T., & Anderson, M.H. (2008). An examination of the relationship between absorptive capacity and organizational learning, and a proposed integration. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(2), 130-150.
  42. Todorova, G., & Durisin, B. (2007). Absorptive capacity: Valuing a reconceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 774-786.
  43. Vera, D., & Crossan, M. (2004). Strategic leadership and organizational learning. Academy of Management Review, 29(2), 222-240.
  44. Wegner, D.M. (1987). Transactive Memory. New York: Springer.
  45. Yin, R.K. (2012). Applications of Case Study Research. 3rd ed.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
  46. Zahra, S.A., & George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. The Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185-203.
  47. Zollo, M., & Winter, S.G. (2002). Deliberate learning and the evolution of dynamic capabilities. Organization Science, 13(3), 339-351.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.