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Toward a Theory of International New Ventures

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Abstract

The formation of organizations that are international from inception—international new ventures—is an increasingly important phenomenon that is incongruent with traditionally expected characteristics of multinational enterprises. A framework is presented that explains the phenomenon by integrating international business, entrepreneurship, and strategic management theory. That framework describes four necessary and sufficient elements for the existence of international new ventures: (1) organizational formation through internalization of some transactions, (2) strong reliance on alternative governance structures to access resources, (3) establishment of foreign location advantages, and (4) control over unique resources.

This article was awarded first prize in the 1993 Competition for the Best Paper on Entrepreneurship and Innovation sponsored by New York University’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support for this research from the Bernard B. & Eugenia A. Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise at Georgia State University and from the Society of International Business Fellows, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Journal of International Business Studies (1994) 25(1), 45–64. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490193

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Oviatt, B.M., McDougall, P.P. (2018). Toward a Theory of International New Ventures. In: Reuber, A. (eds) International Entrepreneurship. JIBS Special Collections. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74228-1_2

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