International New Ventures Essay -- International Business

Introduction The article ‘A Theory of International New Ventures: A Decade of Research’ by Zahra (2005) is based on findings based on research sparked by the work of Oviatt and McDougall (1994) ‘Toward a Theory of International New Ventures’. In this article, Zahra (2005) builds on the authors’ research framework, highlighting aspects which expand on the original article and pointing out those which require re-examination in the light of accumulating empirical findings. The term ‘international entrepreneurship’ as developed by Oviatt and McDougall (1994) brings international business theory into an integrated model of International New Ventures (INVs) with an approach based on unique resources and network relationships facilitated by information and communication technology. Defined as a business organization formed for the purpose of deriving significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and sale of outputs in multiple countries, INVs p lay an integral role in today’s global economy as recent global conditions have made the INV form of organization competitive (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994). Literature Review The emergence of INVs is one of the defining features of modern global capitalism (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994). These INVs benefit from the globalized economy in various ways extending their technological learning by tapping into various sources of innovation and competitive advantages as found in the results of a study by Zahra, Ireland and Hitt (2000). Oviatt and McDougall (1994) identified four types of INVs using two dimensions: coordination of value chain activities and the number of countries involved namely- export/import start-ups, multinational trader, geographical focused start ups and global start-up... ....D. and Hitt, M.A (2000) ‘International Expansion by New Venture Firms: International Diversity, Mode of Market Entry, Technological Learning and Performance’, Academy of Management Journal, 43 (5) pp. 925-950. Business Source Premier (Online). Available at http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/ehost/ (Accessed: 8 April 2012). Zahra, S. & George, G. (2002) ‘International Entrepreneurship: The Current Status of the Field and Future Research Agenda’. In M. Hitt, D. Ireland, D. Sexton & M. Camp (Eds.). Strategic Entrepreneurship: Creating an Integrated Mindset. Oxford: Blackwell, 255-288. Zahra, S.A. (2005) ‘A Theory of International New Ventures: A Decade of Research’, Journal of International Business Studies, 36 (1) pp. 20–28. Business Source Premier (Online) Available at www.jstor.org.libproxy1.liv.ac.uk/stable/pdfplus/3875288.pdf (Accessed: 10 April 2012).