Title: Growth in international new ventures: facilitating and redundant components beyond start-up

Authors: Urban Ljungquist; Navid Ghannad

Addresses: Department of Industrial Economics, Blekinge Institute of Technology, S-37179 Karlskrona, Sweden ' School of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University, P.O. Box 823, S-30118 Halmstad, Sweden

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to identify facilitating and redundant components of core competence development during the growth of international new ventures (INVs). Through a longitudinal empirical study comparing three cases based on a large number of interviews, we describe how individual competences essential for the start-up firm (entrepreneurial, market and network) over three phases (small, youth and mature) eventually become redundant or transform into institutionalised routines. An INV built on technology competence needs to combine with market competences, preferably in parallel, for ideal market development. To expand further, the entrepreneurial competence ultimately should be reduced or omitted. To boost expansion, explicate visions and policies should be added to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit and legacy, and to guide employees.

Keywords: international entrepreneurship; international new ventures; INVs; core competences; firm growth; longitudinal study; redundant components; facilitating components; startups; market development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2015.068567

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2015 Vol.7 No.2, pp.103 - 127

Received: 16 Nov 2012
Accepted: 20 Dec 2013

Published online: 06 Apr 2015 *

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