The process of international expansion in knowledge-intensive settings
Subtitle: comparing established firms and entrepreneurial start-ups
By: Walter Kuemmerle
Contributors: Harvard Business School. Division of Research
Series: Working paper / Division of Research, Harvard Business School -- 04-005; Working paper (Harvard Business School. Division of Research) -- 04-005
Publisher: Division of Research, Harvard Business School
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 39
Description: Cross-border expansion of firms in knowledge-intensive industries and settings is driven by various factors including the knowledge available at the firm's home base and the level of knowledge that a firm can potentially appropriate through international expansion. This paper examines the process of international expansion in greater detail. I compare expansion decisions by established firms in the electronics and pharmaceutical industries with expansion decisions by entrepreneurial startups. I find that the characteristics of the expansion process are determined by the intra-firm context as well as by motives for international expansion. I also find that the intra-firm context for international expansion can put established firms at a considerable disadvantage relative to entrepreneurial firms.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.