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INTRODUCTION1,2
As globalization accelerated beginning with the 1980s, we observed growing evidence for the phenomenon of early and rapid internationalization. Especially notable was the increasing number of young, entrepreneurial firms intently pursuing customers in foreign markets that populated the business landscape. Scholars and management consultants alike referred to this breed of firms as "born global" firms. They were characterized as "young, entrepreneurial start-ups that initiate international business (typically exporting) soon after their inception" (Knight & Cavusgil, 2004). The tendency of young firms to initiate early and accelerated internationalization might be expected in countries with smaller domestic markets, such as Australia and Denmark. However, such firms began emerging from economies with large internal markets, like the United States.
Facilitated in part by globalization, the Internet, and other modern communications technologies, the cost of internationalization no longer seemed to hinder foreign expansion of smaller, under-resourced companies. Determined change agents, equipped with unique offerings, were driving younger firms to expand abroad. We observed numerous entrepreneurial start-ups that had established commercial ventures with customers worldwide, from or near founding of the firm.
Evidence mounted from around the world (e.g., Business Week , 1992; Gupta, 1989; McKinsey & Company, 1993; Nikkei Sangyoo Shimbun, 1995; Oviatt & McDougall, 1994; Rennie, 1993). In some industrialized economies such as Australia and the United States (Business Week , 1992; McKinsey & Company, 1993), born global firms were thought to account for a substantial portion of export growth. To the best of our knowledge, the term "born global" was first used in a study of early internationalizing firms conducted in Australia by McKinsey & Company (McKinsey & Company, 1993; Rennie, 1993). By the mid-1990s, there was little doubt that a novel breed of entrepreneurial enterprises had emerged.
Born global firms exemplify early and rapid internationalization.3 We defined born globals as "entrepreneurial start-ups that, from or near their founding, seek to derive a substantial proportion of their revenue from the sale of products in international markets" (Knight & Cavusgil, 2004). We should note that "international new ventures," a concept introduced by Oviatt and McDougall (e.g., McDougall & Oviatt, 2000; Oviatt & McDougall, 1994), are similar to born globals, but distinctive in some ways. Oviatt and McDougall (1994: 49) defined international...