Understanding the pace, scale and pattern of born global firm internationalisation: a service firm perspective

Purpose: The purpose of the current study will be to create a framework for the study of ‘born global’ firms as well as to investigate how Australian service based born global firms internationalise. The study will aim to address the current gaps in the research and attempt to address the deficiency of a consistent criterion for born global firms. Originality: The study will integrate previous research literature through applying a theoretical framework to the born global firm internationalisation process. The study will also attempt to address the omission in the research literature of service based born global firms and investigate their internationalisation processes. Key literature / theoretical perspective: The study uses a framework based on ‘born global’ literature that incorporates the speed of internationalisation, the choice of entry modes, the choice of markets and the number of markets that they enter into to investigate how and why Australian service based born global firms internationalise. Design/methodology/approach: The study will use multiple research methods to triangulate results, including interviews, and case studies as well as a quantitative survey. Findings: Preliminary findings from interviews conducted with founders of Australian service based born global firms show that their internationalisation processes do differ to other born global firms. The findings highlight that the choice of markets of Australian service based born global firms appear to be influenced by psychic distance and that the firms’ choice of entry mode is not necessarily consistent with other born global research. Research limitations/implications: The expected limitations of the study will be that the current research will examine born global firms within an Australian context. Future research of the born global framework will be aided by examining born global firms from other international contexts. Practical and Social implications: Improving the understanding of born global internationalisation will provide benefits as organisations and entrepreneurs will be able to analyse and be more aware of potential internationalisation factors to incorporate into their own strategy.