Content area
Full Text
Introduction
The past decades have witnessed an increase in research on firms that, from inception, view the whole world as a market and/or a source to access resources—such firms are known as born globals (Jones et al., 2011; Romanello and Chiarvesio, 2019; Servantie et al., 2016). These firms are characterized by a global view of their markets and the ability to develop the capabilities necessary to achieve substantial international sales (Andersson and Wictor, 2003; Cavusgil and Knight, 2015; Knight and Cavusgil, 2004).
Extensive research has examined born globals' internationalization in terms of which markets and market channels they choose to enter internationally at inception and in the early phases (Knight and Liesch, 2016). A wealth of research has also addressed the antecedents and factors influencing these choices (Andersson and Wictor, 2003; Evers, 2010; Coviello, 2006). Few studies have investigated born globals' drive of growth (Autio et al., 2000; Sleuwaegen and Onkelinx, 2014; Ughetto, 2016). The majority of studies on born globals have focused on the early stages of born globals' internationalization processes, and they have largely neglected the later stages or the factors that lead to continued international growth (Kuivalainen et al., 2007; Morgan-Thomas and Jones, 2009). Several questions remain unanswered. For example, what happens to born global firms when they ‘grow up’ (Cavusgil and Knight, 2015)? How can the long-term trajectory of born globals be understood (Knight and Liesch, 2016)? How, when and why do capabilities and strategies shift when early internationalized firms mature and which factors underpin firms that maintain rapid internationalization (Coviello, 2015)? Only a few studies have captured the long-term behaviour and growth of born globals (Gabrielsson and Gabrielsson, 2013; Gabrielsson et al., 2012; Melén and Nordman, 2009; Øyna et al., 2018; Romanello and Chiarvesio, 2017; Turcan and Juho, 2014). Prior research on born globals' later stages has focused on entrepreneurs' decision-making logic (Gabrielsson and Gabrielsson, 2013; Nummela et al., 2014) and the importance of the management team (Hagen and Zucchella, 2014). Øyna et al. (2018) argue that by acquiring new knowledge and technologies, born globals can survive and grow into mature stages of development. However, the sparse research on long-term survival and growth is fragmented, and scholars have called for additional empirical...