Investigations on the growth of early internationalizing firms

This dissertation presents investigations on the existence and growth of early internationalizing firms. The thesis is structured in essays. The first essay explores the evolution of early internationalization literature in the last decade, through a systematic review of articles published in leading journals on this topic. Emerged almost thirty years ago, the literature on early internationalization has evolved rapidly, rising the interest of both academics and policy makers. The article finally provides a thematic map serving as a starting point for academics approaching this issue. The second essay presents an exploratory qualitative research aimed at investigating the growth processes of six Italian manufacturing born globals. Among early internationalizing firms, born globals are young companies that enter foreign markets soon and rapidly increase their presence abroad. These companies have captured the interest of academics because they get the jump on larger, established players in the marketplace. The study provides several insights on how the success factors that influence the growth of these companies change during their lifecycles. The third and final essay examines the drivers of performance among a sample of Italian manufacturing exporting small and medium sized firms, by considering drivers at the individual, firm and strategic levels. Results show that internationally experienced founders, organizational marketing skills in international markets and an aggressive approach towards international markets drive companies to superior performances. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.