Abstract
In spite of a notable interest surrounding the learning advantages of newness (LAN), centered on the emergent international entrepreneurship literature, we have only limited understanding of how young international new ventures (INVs) acquire learning advantages and avoid the liabilities of newness and foreignness in order to achieve LAN-related performance from early internationalization. In this article, two related but conceptually distinct capability upgrading constructs- knowledge capability upgrading and network capability upgrading- are identified to serve as mediating mechanisms that link entrepreneurial proclivity and LAN-related performance. Our findings from a sample of 436 young INVs from China provide supporting evidence for the mediating effect of capability upgrading, particularly among relatively larger new ventures and those operating with cost/price advantages in the international marketplace. This study fills a gap in the under-researched area of literature surrounding INVs from emerging economies, and demonstrates how young international venturing firms can leverage the entrepreneurial dynamics of learning to achieve growth opportunities from early internationalization.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 882-905 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Journal of International Business Studies |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 19 Nov 2009 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Consulting Editor, Professor Yadong Luo, for his instrumental and insightful guidance, and the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. They also thank Professor Shaker. A. Zahra for his helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, as well as the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong for financially supporting the research (CERG LU3107/03H).
Keywords
- Capabilities and capability development
- Emerging markets/countries/economies
- Entrepreneurial proclivity
- Learning advantages of newness
- Market knowledge
- Relationship networks