Strategic entrepreneurial internationalization: A normative framework

E Autio (2017). Strategic entrepreneurial internationalization: A normative framework, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 11(3): 211-227.

Much of the literature on international new ventures (INVs) focuses on early internationalization and views it as an expression of firm-specific advantages that existed prior to internationalization. This article presents a normative framework that articulates how INVs can leverage internationalization to drive de novo competitive advantage.

Drawing on the organizational capability and business model design literatures, the framework of strategic entrepreneurial internationalization (SEI) argues that INVs that adopt an active learning orientation, harness digital infrastructures for cross-border business model experimentation, encapsulate cross-border asymmetries in their activity system, and adopt a niche orientation are more likely to succeed in building sustainable competitive advantage.