Title: The internationalisation of research and development in Swiss and German Born Globals: survey and case study evidence

Authors: Oliver Gassmann, Marcus Matthias Keupp

Addresses: Institute of Technology Management, University of St. Gallen, Dufourstrasse 40a, CH-9000 Sankt Gallen, Switzerland. ' Institute of Technology Management, University of St. Gallen, Dufourstrasse 40a, CH-9000 Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

Abstract: While IE literature neglects international innovative activities of Born Globals (BGs), literature on international innovation management focuses on large firms only. We investigate into this gap, proposing a framework to understand where and why BGs engage in such activities. We operationalise and test this framework with both quantitative and qualitative data. Focusing on the Chinese business environment and resorting to an organisational learning and competitive advantage perspective, we show that the basic motivation for the conduct of international innovatory activities is independent of firm size yet particularly attractive for BGs to generate and sustain competitive advantage on an international basis.

Keywords: research and development; R&D; born globals; entrepreneurship; small business; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; innovation management; internationalisation; Switzerland; Germany; China; organisational learning; competitive advantage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2007.013249

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2007 Vol.4 No.3, pp.214 - 233

Published online: 14 Apr 2007 *

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