Dynamic experimental internationalization: Strategy of SMEs from a transition economy

Journal of International Entrepreneurship

Volumn 11, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 370-399

  Thai, Mai Thi Thanh ^a   Chong, Li Choy ^b  

^a HEC MONTRÉAL   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ST GALLEN   (Switzerland)

Author keywords

Grounded Theory; Internationalization process; Knowledge based internationalization model; SME; Transition economy; Vietnam

Indexed keywords

EID: 84888845306     PISSN: 15707385     EISSN: 15737349     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10843-013-0110-4     Document Type: Article

References (115)

1. Aharoni Y (1966) The foreign investment decision process. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
2. Aharoni Y, Tihanyi L, Connelly BL (2011) Managerial decision-making in international business: a forty-five-year retrospective. J World Bus 46(2): 135.
3. Ahlstrom D, Bruton GD (2010) Rapid institutional shifts and the co-evolution of entrepreneurial firms in transition economies. Entrep Theory Pract 34(3): 531-554.
4. Andersen O (1993) On the internationalization process of firms: a critical analysis. J Int Bus Stud 24(2): 209-231.
5. Andersen O, Kheam LS (1998) Resource-based theory and international growth strategies: an exploratory study. Int Bus Rev 7(2): 163-184.
6. Andersson S (2011) International entrepreneurship, born globals and the theory of effectuation. J Small Bus Enterp Dev 18(3): 627-643.
7. Appold S (2004) Social embedding as a solution to a control problem: evidence from Vietnamese small business. In: The annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA.
8. ASMED (2006) Small and medium enterprise development: 5 year plan 2006-2010. Agency for SME Development, Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment, Hanoi, Vietnam.
9. Barney JB, Wright M, Ketchen DJ Jr (2001) The resource-based view of the firm: ten years after 1991. J Manag 27(6): 625-641.
10. Benito GRG, Gripsrud G (1992) The expansion of foreign direct investments: discrete rational location choices or a cultural learning process? J Int Bus Stud 23(3): 461-476.
11. Benito GRG, Welch LS (1997) De-internationalization. Manag Int Rev 37(2): 7-19.
12. Benito GR, Petersen B, Welch LS (2009) Towards more realistic conceptualisations of foreign operation modes. J Int Bus Stud 40(9): 1455-1470.
13. Bilkey WJ, Tesar G (1977a) The export behavior of smaller Wisconsin manufacturing finns. J Int Bus Stud 8(1): 93-98.
14. Bilkey WJ, Tesar G (1977b) The export behavior of smaller Wisconsin manufacturing finns. J Int Bus Stud 8(1): 93-98.
15. Bjorkman I, Forsgren M (2000) Nordic international business research. Int Stud Manag Organ 30(1): 6-25.
16. Brouthers KD, Hennart J-F (2007) Boundaries of the firm: insights from international entry mode research. J Manag 33(3): 395-425.
17. Buckley PJ, Casson MC (2009) The internalisation theory of the multinational enterprise: a review of the progress of a research agenda after 30 years. J Int Bus Stud 40(9): 1563-1580.
18. Calof JL, Beamish PW (1995) Adapting to foreign markets: explaining internationalization. Int Bus Rev 4(2): 115-131.
19. Calvet AL (1981) A synthesis of foreign direct investment theories and of the multinational firm. J Int Bus Stud 12(1): 43-59.
20. Canabala A, White GO III (2008) Entry mode research: past and future. Int Bus Rev 17(3): 267-284.
21. Cattani G, Tschoegl AE (2002) An evolutionary view of internationalization: Chase Manhattan Bank, 1917 to 1996. The Wharton Financial Institutions Center, Philadelphia.
22. Cavusgil ST (1982) Some observations on the relevance of critical variables for internationalization stages. In: Czinkota MR, Tesar G (eds) Export management: an international context. Praeger, New York.
23. Cavusgil ST (1990) On the internationalization process of firms. In: Thorelli HB, Cavusgil ST (eds) International marketing strategy, 3rd edn. Pergamon Press, Elmsford, pp 147-159.
24. Chen R, Cannice MV, Daniels JD (2001) Market entry and international technology transfer: a case analysis of ten U. S. high-tech firms in China and Southeast Asia. Adv Int Mark 11: 133-155.
25. Cheng J (2009) China, Malaysia scale back censorship; Vietnam steps it up. Condé Nast Digital. August 14, 2009 4: 18 PM. http://arstechnica. com/web/news/2009/08/asian-censorship-roundup-two-steps-forward-one-step-back. ars Accessed 25 Aug 2010.
26. Clercq DD, Sapienza HJ, Crijns H (2005) The internationalization of small and medium-sized firms. Small Bus Econ 24(4): 409-419.
27. Collinson S, Houlden J (2005) Decision-making and market orientation in the internationalization process of small and medium-sized enterprises. Manag Int Rev 45(4): 413-436.
28. Contractor FJ, Kundu SK (1998) Modal choice in a world of alliances: organizational forms in the international hotel sector. J Int Bus Stud 29(2): 325-356.
29. Country Profile: Vietnam (2007) OpenNet Initiative. http://opennet. net/research/profiles/vietnam. Accessed 25 Aug 2010.
30. Cyert RM, March JG (1992) A behavioral theory of the firm. Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge.
31. Davidson WH (1983) Market similarity and market selection: implications for international marketing strategy. J Bus Res 11(4): 439-456.
32. Davis PS, Desai AB, Francis JD (2000) Mode of international entry: an isomorphism perspective. J Int Bus Stud 31(2): 239-258.
33. Denscombe M (1998) The good research guide for small-scale social research projects. Open University Press, Philadelphia.
34. Dunning JH (1980) Toward an eclectic theory of international production. Some Empirical Tests 11(1): 9-31.
35. Dunning JH (2001a) The eclectic (OLI) paradigm of international production: past, present and future. Int J Econ Bus 8(2): 173-190.
36. Dunning JH (2001b) The eclectic (OLI) paradigm of international production: past, present and future. Int J Econ Bus 8(2): 173-190.
37. Easterby-Smith M, Thorpe R, Lowe A (1994) Management research: an introduction. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
38. Eisenhardt KM (1989a) Agency theory: an assessment and review. Acad Manag Rev 14(1): 57-74.
39. Eisenhardt KM (1989b) Building theories from case study research. Acad Manag Rev 14(4): 532-550.
40. EIU (2009) Country profile Vietnam 2009. Economist Intelligence Unit, New York.
41. Erramilli MK, Agarwal S, Dev CS (2002) Choice between non-equity entry modes: an organizational capability perspective. J Int Bus Stud 33(2): 223-242.
42. Etemad H (2004) Internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises: a grounded theoretical framework and an overview. Can J Adm Sci 21(1): 1-21.
43. Fina E, Rugman AM (1996) A test of internalization theory and internationalization theory: The Upjohn Company. Manag Int Rev 36(3): 199-213.
44. Fisher JL, Koch JV (2008) Born, not made: the entrepreneurial personality. Praeger Publishers, Westport.
45. Fletcher M, Harris S, Richey Jr RG (2013) Internationalization knowledge: what, why, where and when? Journal of International Marketing (ja): 1-52.
46. Gatignon H, Anderson E (1988) The multinational corporation's degree of control over foreign subsidiaries: an empirical test of a transaction cost explanation. J Law Econ Organ 4(2): 305-336.
47. George G, Wiklund J, Zahra SA (2005) Ownership and the internationalization of small firms. J Manag 31(2): 210-233.
48. Glaser BG, Strauss AL (1967) The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. Aldine, Chicago.
49. Goulding C (2002) Grounded theory: a practical guide for management, business and market researchers. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
50. Granovetter M (1985) Economic action and social structure: the problem of embeddedness. Am J Sociol 91(3): 481-510.
51. Hadjikhani A, Hadjikhani AI, Thilenius P (2013) The internationalization process model: a proposed view of firms' regular incremental and irregular non-incremental behaviour. International Business Review.
52. Handbook of Statistics 2006-2007 (2006) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. http://www. unctad. org. Accessed 1 Feb 2008.
53. Hook RC Jr, Czinkota M (1988) Export activities and prospects of Hawaiian firms. Int Mark Rev 5(4): 51-57.
54. Huang Z, Brown A (1999) An analysis and classification of problems in small business. Int Small Bus J 18(1): 73-85.
55. Johanson J, Mattsson L-G (1993a) Internationalization in industrial system: a network approach. In: Buckley PJ, Ghauri PN (eds) The internationalization process of the firm: a reader. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 303-321.
56. Johanson J, Mattsson L-G (1993b) Internationalization in industrial system: a network approach. In: Buckley PJ, Ghauri PN (eds) The internationalization process of the firm: a reader. Academic Press, San Diego.
57. Johanson J, Vahlne J-E (1977a) The internationalization process of the firm-a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. J Int Bus Stud 8(1): 23-32.
58. Johanson J, Vahlne J-E (1977b) The internationalization process of the firm-a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. J Int Bus Stud 8(1): 23-32.
59. Johanson J, Vahlne J-E (2009) The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: from liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership. J Int Bus Stud 40(9): 1411-1431.
60. Johanson J, Wiedersheim-Paul F (1975) The internationalization of the firm: four Swedish cases. J Manag Stud 12(3): 305-322.
61. Jones MV, Coviello NE (2005) Internationalisation: conceptualising an entrepreneurial process of behaviour in time. J Int Bus Stud 36(3): 284-303.
62. Kindleberger CP (1969) American business abroad: six lectures on direct investment. Yale University Press, New Haven.
63. Kogut B, Singh H (1988) The effect of national culture on the choice of entry mode. J Int Bus Stud 19(3): 411-432.
64. Kogut B, Zander U (1993) Knowledge of the firm and the evolutionary theory of the multinational corporation. J Int Bus Stud 24(4): 625-645.
65. Lam LW, White LP (1999) An adaptive choice model of the internationalization process. Int J Organ Anal 7(2): 105-134.
66. Lau H-F (1992) Internationalization, internalization, or a new theory for small low-technology multinational enterprise? Eur J Mark 26(10): 17-31.
67. Lau H-F (2003) Industry evolution and internationalization process of firms from a newly industrialized economy. J Bus Res 56(10): 847-852.
68. Lee W-Y, Brasch JJ (1978) The adoption of export as an innovative strategy. J Int Bus Stud 9(1): 85-94.
69. Mainela T, Puhakka V (2009) Organising new business in a turbulent context: opportunity discovery and effectuation for IJV development in transition markets. J Int Entrep 7(2): 111-134.
70. Ma{dot below}nh ND{stroke} (2008) Resolution No. 21/NQ-TW of the 6th Communist Party Congress No. 10 [Nghi{dot below} quyết 21-NQ/TW cu{hook above}a Ban Chấp hành Trung u{horn}o{horn}ng D{stroke}a{hook above}ng Cô{dot below}ng sa{hook above}n Viê{dot below}t Nam khóa X]. Vietnam Communist party, Hanoi, VN.
71. Manolovaa TS, Manevb IM, Gyoshev BS (2010) In good company: the role of personal and inter-firm networks for new-venture internationalization in a transition economy. J World Bus 45(3): 257-265.
72. Masurel E, Smit PH (2000) Planning behavior of small firms in central Vietnam. J Small Bus Manag 38(2): 95-102.
73. Mejri K, Umemoto K (2010a) Small- and medium-sized enterprise internationalization: towards the knowledge-based model. J Int Entrep 8(2): 156-167.
74. Mejri K, Umemoto K (2010b) Small- and medium-sized enterprise internationalization: towards the knowledge-based model. J Int Entrep 8(2): 156-167.
75. Nee V (1992) Organizational dynamics of market transition: hybrid forms, property rights, and mixed economy in China. Adm Sci Q 37(1): 1-27.
76. O'Grady S, Lane HW (1996) The psychic distance paradox. J Int Bus Stud 27(2): 309-333.
77. Oviatt BM, McDougall PP (1994) Toward a theory of international new venture. J Int Bus Stud 25(1): 45-64.
78. Oviatt BM, McDougall PP (1997) Challenges for internationalization process theory: the case of international new ventures. Manag Int Rev 37(2): 85-99.
79. Papadopoulos N (1988) Inventory, taxonomy and assessment of methods for international market selection. Int Mark Rev 5(3): 38-51.
80. Patton MQ (2002) Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
81. Peng MW (2000) Business strategies in transition economies. Sage, Thousand Oaks.
82. Peng MW (2001a) The resource-based view and international business. J Manag 27(6): 803-829.
83. Peng MW (2001b) The resource-based view and international business. J Manag 27(6): 803-829.
84. Peng MW, Heath PS (1996) The growth of the firm in planned economies in transition: institutions, organizations, and strategic choice. Acad Manag Rev 21(2): 492-528.
85. Penrose ET (1959) The theory of the growth of the firm. Wiley, New York.
86. Perren L, Ram M (2004) Case-study method in small business and entrepreneurial research: mapping boundaries and perspectives. Int Small Bus J 22(1): 83-101.
87. Pisani N (2009) International management research: investigating its recent diffusion in top management journals. J Manag 35(2): 199-218.
88. Praag CMV, Ophem HV (1995) Determinants of willingness and opportunity to start as an entrepreneur. Kyklos 48(4): 513-540.
89. Ragin CC (1994) Constructing social research. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks.
90. Reid SD (1981) The decision-maker and export entry and expansion. J Int Bus Stud 12(2): 101-112.
91. Reid S (1983) Firm internationalization, transaction costs and strategic choice. Int Mark Rev 1(2): 44-56.
92. Rugman AM (1981) Inside the multinationals: the economics of internal markets. Croom Helm, London.
93. Ruzzier M, Hisrich RD, Antoncic B (2006) SME internationalization research: past, present, and future. J Small Bus Enterp Dev 13(4): 476-497.
94. Sarasvathy SD (2001) Causation and effectuation: toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Acad Manag Rev 26(2): 243-263.
95. Sarasvathy SD (2008) Effectuation: elements of entrepreneurial expertise. Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc., Northampton.
96. Schaumburg-Müller H, Chuong PH (2009) The new Asian dragon: internationalization of firms in Vietnam. Copenhagen Business School Press, Copenhagen.
97. Shefsky LE (1996) Entrepreneurs are made not born. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, New York.
98. Shinkle GA, Kriauciunas AP, Hundley G (2013) Why pure strategies may be wrong for transition economy firms. Strategic Management Journal.
99. Statistical data [Số liê{combining dot below)u thống kê] (2007) General Statistics Office of Vietnam. http://www. gso. gov. vn. Accessed Jan 5.
100. Strauss A, Corbin J (1998) Basics of qualitative research. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
101. Tashakkori A, Teddlie C (1998) Mixed methodology: combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
102. Thai MTT (2008) The internationalization of vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises. University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen.
103. Thai MTT, Chong LC (2008) Born-global: the case of four Vietnamese SMEs. J Int Entrep 6(2): 72-100.
104. Tirole J (1988) The theory of firm. In: Tirole J (ed) The theory of industrial organization. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 15-60.
105. Transparency International (2010) Corruption Perceptions Index Transparency International. http://www. transparency. org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010. Accessed 10 Sept 2011.
106. Vahlne J-E, Johanson J (2013) The Uppsala model on evolution of the multinational business enterprise-from internalization to coordination of networks. Int Mark Rev 30(3): 189-210.
107. Vo DL (2004) Vietnam economic renovation along socialist-oriented market economy. In: International Policy Conference on Transition Economies, Hanoi, Vietnam. Country Papers Series 11. United Nations Development Programme.
108. Weisfelder CJ (2001) Internationalization and the multinational enterprise: development of a research tradition. Adv Int Mark 11: 13-46.
109. Welch C, Paavilainen-Mäntymäki E (2013) Putting process (back) In: Research on the internationalization process of the firm. International Journal of Management Reviews.
110. Werner S (2002) Recent developments in international management research: a review of 20 top management journals. J Manag 28(3): 277-355.
111. Wright M, Westhead P, Ucbasaran D (2007) Internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and international entrepreneurship: a critique and policy implications. Reg Stud 41(7): 1013-1030.
112. Yin RK (2003) Case study research: design and methods. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
113. Yin RK (2011) Qualitative research from start to finish. The Guilford Press, New York.
114. Yiu D, Makino S (2002) The choice between joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary: an institutional perspective. Organ Sci 13(6): 667-683.
115. Zafarullah M, Ali M, Young S (1998) The internationalization of the small firm in developing countries: exploratory research from Pakistan. J Glob Mark 11(3): 21-40.