IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v30y2021i1s0969593120301141.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experience as a catalyst of export destinations: The ambidextrous connection between international experience and past entrepreneurial experience

Author

Listed:
  • Lafuente, Esteban
  • Vaillant, Yancy
  • Alvarado, Marco
  • Mora-Esquivel, Ronald
  • Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran

Abstract

This paper examines how different forms of accumulated exploitable knowledge—i.e., export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience—stimulate export destinations, defined as the number of foreign markets where businesses sell their products/services. The proposed hypotheses are tested on a unique sample of Costa Rican entrepreneurial businesses for 2017. Results from the sequential deductive triangulation analysis (QUAN → qual) reveal that the ambidextrous connection between export experience with the current firm and past entrepreneurial experience is an essential prerequisite for explaining export destination figures. Also, the positive effect of export experience with the current business on export destinations is more prevalent among firms created by serial entrepreneurs. These findings corroborate our argument line on the importance of generative-based learning processes. Furthermore, the results of the qualitative analysis suggest that task-specific international experience and experience gained through past business venturing are relevant micro-foundations of international business expansion in the context of the export destinations of entrepreneurial firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Lafuente, Esteban & Vaillant, Yancy & Alvarado, Marco & Mora-Esquivel, Ronald & Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran, 2021. "Experience as a catalyst of export destinations: The ambidextrous connection between international experience and past entrepreneurial experience," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:30:y:2021:i:1:s0969593120301141
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101765
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593120301141
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101765?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jason Cope, 2005. "Toward a Dynamic Learning Perspective of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(4), pages 373-397, July.
    2. Teppo Felin & Nicolai J. Foss & Koen H. Heimeriks & Tammy L. Madsen, 2012. "Microfoundations of Routines and Capabilities: Individuals, Processes, and Structure," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(8), pages 1351-1374, December.
    3. Liu, Yipeng & Almor, Tamar, 2016. "How culture influences the way entrepreneurs deal with uncertainty in inter-organizational relationships: The case of returnee versus local entrepreneurs in China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 4-14.
    4. Jonathan Eaton & Samuel Kortum & Francis Kramarz, 2004. "Dissecting Trade: Firms, Industries, and Export Destinations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 150-154, May.
    5. Gary A Knight & S Tamar Cavusgil, 2004. "Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born-global firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(2), pages 124-141, March.
    6. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike & Flores, Manuel, 2010. "The nature of entrepreneurial experience, business failure and comparative optimism," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 541-555, November.
    7. Kalina Manova & Zhiwei Zhang, 2012. "Export Prices Across Firms and Destinations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 379-436.
    8. Esteban Lafuente & Yancy Vaillant & Juan Carlos Leiva, 2018. "Sustainable and Traditional Product Innovation without Scale and Experience, but Only for KIBS!," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Sanghamitra Das & Mark J. Roberts & James R. Tybout, 2007. "Market Entry Costs, Producer Heterogeneity, and Export Dynamics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(3), pages 837-873, May.
    10. Irene Brambilla & Daniel Lederman & Guido Porto, 2012. "Exports, Export Destinations, and Skills," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(7), pages 3406-3438, December.
    11. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    12. Robert A. Baron & Michael D. Ensley, 2006. "Opportunity Recognition as the Detection of Meaningful Patterns: Evidence from Comparisons of Novice and Experienced Entrepreneurs," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(9), pages 1331-1344, September.
    13. Cao, Lanlan & Navare, Jyoti & Jin, Zhongqi, 2018. "Business model innovation: How the international retailers rebuild their core business logic in a new host country," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 543-562.
    14. Greene, William, 2008. "Functional forms for the negative binomial model for count data," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(3), pages 585-590, June.
    15. Jones, Marian V. & Coviello, Nicole & Tang, Yee Kwan, 2011. "International Entrepreneurship research (1989–2009): A domain ontology and thematic analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 632-659.
    16. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    17. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Alsos, Gry Agnete & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 2008. "Habitual Entrepreneurs," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 4(4), pages 309-450, March.
    18. Volpe Martincus, Christian & Carballo, Jerónimo, 2008. "Is export promotion effective in developing countries? Firm-level evidence on the intensive and the extensive margins of exports," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 89-106, September.
    19. Gary A Knight & S Tamer Cavusgil, 2004. "Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born-global firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(4), pages 334-334, July.
    20. Alex Rialp & Josep Rialp & David Urbano & Yancy Vaillant, 2005. "The Born-Global Phenomenon: A Comparative Case Study Research," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 133-171, June.
    21. Theodosiou, Marios & Leonidou, Leonidas C., 2003. "Standardization versus adaptation of international marketing strategy: an integrative assessment of the empirical research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 141-171, April.
    22. Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike & Ucbasaran, Deniz, 2001. "The internationalization of new and small firms: A resource-based view," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 333-358, July.
    23. Raschke, Robyn L., 2010. "Process-based view of agility: The value contribution of IT and the effects on process outcomes," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 297-313.
    24. Panagiotis Ganotakis & James H Love, 2012. "Export propensity, export intensity and firm performance: The role of the entrepreneurial founding team," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(8), pages 693-718, October.
    25. Liu, Yipeng & Huang, Qihai, 2018. "University capability as a micro-foundation for the Triple Helix model: The case of China," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 76, pages 40-50.
    26. Indujeeva Peiris & Michèle Akoorie & Paresha Sinha, 2012. "International entrepreneurship: A critical analysis of studies in the past two decades and future directions for research," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 279-324, December.
    27. Laufs, Katharina & Schwens, Christian, 2014. "Foreign market entry mode choice of small and medium-sized enterprises: A systematic review and future research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1109-1126.
    28. Alonso, Suyen & Leiva, Juan Carlos, 2019. "Business competitiveness in Costa Rica: a multidimensional approach," TEC Empresarial, School of Business, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), vol. 13(3), pages 28-41.
    29. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 2009. "The extent and nature of opportunity identification by experienced entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 99-115, March.
    30. Ahammad, Mohammad Faisal & Tarba, Shlomo Yedidia & Liu, Yipeng & Glaister, Keith W., 2016. "Knowledge transfer and cross-border acquisition performance: The impact of cultural distance and employee retention," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 66-75.
    31. Henk W. Volberda & Nicolai J. Foss & Marjorie A. Lyles, 2010. "PERSPECTIVE---Absorbing the Concept of Absorptive Capacity: How to Realize Its Potential in the Organization Field," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 931-951, August.
    32. David J. Teece, 2007. "Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(13), pages 1319-1350, December.
    33. Rialp, Alex & Rialp, Josep & Knight, Gary A., 2005. "The phenomenon of early internationalizing firms: what do we know after a decade (1993-2003) of scientific inquiry?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 147-166, April.
    34. George P. Huber, 1991. "Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 88-115, February.
    35. Paulo Bastos & Joana Silva & Eric Verhoogen, 2018. "Export Destinations and Input Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(2), pages 353-392, February.
    36. Maurizio Zollo & Sidney G. Winter, 2002. "Deliberate Learning and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 339-351, June.
    37. Marco Alvarado & Esteban Lafuente & Ronald Mora-Esquivel, 2019. "Export diversity and the relevance of different forms of market experience," International Journal of Business Environment, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(3), pages 209-226.
    38. Boehe, Dirk & Jiménez, Alfredo, 2018. "Does the sequencing of related and unrelated export diversification matter? Evidence from Colombian exporters," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1141-1149.
    39. Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Do serial entrepreneurs run successively better-performing businesses?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 652-666.
    40. Schmidt, Tobias & Sofka, Wolfgang, 2009. "Liability of foreignness as a barrier to knowledge spillovers: Lost in translation?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 460-474, December.
    41. Monge González, Ricardo & Leiva, Juan Carlos & Torres Carballo, Federico & Alfaro Ureña, Alonso & Morales Sandoval, Cristina & Solano Gómez, Ángela, 2017. "Gazelle firms in Costa Rica: an exploratory study of identification and characterization," TEC Empresarial, School of Business, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), vol. 11(3), pages 17-26.
    42. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Zhou, Ying, 2016. "Experience, age and exporting performance in UK SMEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 806-819.
    43. Roper, Stephen & Love, James H., 2002. "Innovation and export performance: evidence from the UK and German manufacturing plants," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1087-1102, September.
    44. Majocchi, Antonio & Bacchiocchi, Emanuele & Mayrhofer, Ulrike, 2005. "Firm size, business experience and export intensity in SMEs: A longitudinal approach to complex relationships," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(6), pages 719-738, December.
    45. Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran & Gomes, Emanuel & Collinson, Simon & Parry, Glenn & Bustinza, Oscar F., 2018. "Selling digital services abroad: How do extrinsic attributes influence foreign consumers’ purchase intentions?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 173-185.
    46. Deniz Ucbasaran & Andy Lockett & Mike Wright & Paul Westhead, 2003. "Entrepreneurial Founder Teams: Factors Associated with Member Entry and Exit," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(2), pages 107-128, March.
    47. Yancy Vaillant & Esteban Lafuente & Manoj Chandra Bayon, 2019. "Early internationalization patterns and export market persistence: a pseudo-panel data analysis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 669-686, October.
    48. Toft-Kehler, Rasmus & Wennberg, Karl & Kim, Phillip H., 2014. "Practice makes perfect: Entrepreneurial-experience curves and venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 453-470.
    49. Casillas, Jose C. & Barbero, Jose L. & Sapienza, Harry J., 2015. "Knowledge acquisition, learning, and the initial pace of internationalization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 102-114.
    50. Giovanni Gavetti, 2012. "PERSPECTIVE—Toward a Behavioral Theory of Strategy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 267-285, February.
    51. C. M. Van Praag & J. S. Cramer, 2001. "The Roots of Entrepreneurship and Labour Demand: Individual Ability and Low Risk Aversion," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 68(269), pages 45-62, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fariborzi, Hadi & Osiyevskyy, Oleksiy & DaSilva, Carlos, 2022. "The effect of geographic scope on growth and growth variability of SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    2. Shahid, Pirzada Syed Rizwan, 2023. "Founder's Human Capital and the Entrepreneurial Process Duration," OSF Preprints yf6mg, Center for Open Science.
    3. Altintas, Gulsun & Ambrosini, Véronique & Gudergan, Siegfried, 2022. "MNE dynamic capabilities in (un)related diversification," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1).
    4. Skylar Powell, K. & Takahashi, Hidenori & Lim, Eunah, 2022. "Experienced ‘misfits’: Multinationality alignment, international experience, and adjustments to multinationality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 56-69.
    5. Sorin I Blaga, 2022. "A Conceptual Model and Hypothesis of Firm Bankruptcy: A Romanian Case Study," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(1), pages 211-226, March.
    6. Kinkel, Steffen & Capestro, Mauro & Di Maria, Eleonora & Bettiol, Marco, 2023. "Artificial intelligence and relocation of production activities: An empirical cross-national study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    7. F. Vendrell-Herrero & M. Opazo-Basáez & Josip Marić, 2023. "Open and Social: Portraying the Resilient, Social and Competitive, Upcoming Enterprise," Post-Print hal-04434045, HAL.
    8. González, Carlos & Ruiz Massieu, Daniela, 2021. "Universally-enabling and context-binding resources in new venture internationalization: Evidence from venture capital backed start-ups in an emerging market," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Zhou, Ying, 2016. "Experience, age and exporting performance in UK SMEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 806-819.
    2. Quan Anh Nguyen & Gillian Sullivan Mort, 0. "Conceptualising organisational-level and microfoundational capabilities: an integrated view of born-globals’ internationalisation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-23.
    3. Quan Anh Nguyen & Gillian Sullivan Mort, 2021. "Conceptualising organisational-level and microfoundational capabilities: an integrated view of born-globals’ internationalisation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1781-1803, December.
    4. Yancy Vaillant & Esteban Lafuente & Manoj Chandra Bayon, 2019. "Early internationalization patterns and export market persistence: a pseudo-panel data analysis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 669-686, October.
    5. Vincenza Odorici & Manuela Presutti, 2013. "The entrepreneurial experience and strategic orientation of high-tech born global start-ups: An analysis of novice and habitual entrepreneurs," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 268-291, September.
    6. Faroque, Anisur R. & Morrish, Sussie C. & Kuivalainen, Olli & Sundqvist, Sanna & Torkkeli, Lasse, 2021. "Microfoundations of network exploration and exploitation capabilities in international opportunity recognition," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    7. Stucki, Tobias, 2016. "How the founders’ general and specific human capital drives export activities of start-ups," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1014-1030.
    8. Hélène Laurell & Leona Achtenhagen & Svante Andersson, 2017. "The changing role of network ties and critical capabilities in an international new venture’s early development," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 113-140, March.
    9. Øyna, Stine & Almor, Tamar & Elango, B. & Tarba, Shlomo Y., 2018. "Maturing born globals and their acquisitive behaviour," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 714-725.
    10. Sascha Kraus & Alexander Brem & Miriam Schuessler & Felix Schuessler & Thomas Niemand, 2019. "Innovative Born Globals: Investigating the Influence of Their Business Models on International Performance," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Alexander Brem & Joe Tidd & Tugrul Daim (ed.), Managing Innovation Internationalization of Innovation, chapter 11, pages 275-328, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. Patel, Pankaj C. & Tsionas, Mike & Oghazi, Pejvak & Izquierdo, Vanessa, 2022. "No entrepreneur steps in the same river twice: Limited learning advantage for serial entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1038-1052.
    12. Altintas, Gulsun & Ambrosini, Véronique & Gudergan, Siegfried, 2022. "MNE dynamic capabilities in (un)related diversification," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1).
    13. Dzikowski, Piotr, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of born global firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 281-294.
    14. Khan, Zaheer & Lew, Yong Kyu, 2018. "Post-entry survival of developing economy international new ventures: A dynamic capability perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 149-160.
    15. José Ernesto Amorós & Rodrigo Basco & Gianni Romaní, 2016. "Determinants of early internationalization of new firms: the case of Chile," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 283-307, March.
    16. Lauri Haapanen & Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen & Jan Hermes, 2018. "FIRM FUNCTIONS AND THE NATURE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN INTERNATIONALIZING SMEs," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(03), pages 1-30, April.
    17. Baum, Matthias & Schwens, Christian & Kabst, Ruediger, 2015. "A latent class analysis of small firms’ internationalization patterns," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 754-768.
    18. Darshana Mudalige & Noor Azizi Ismail & Marlin Abdul Malek, 2019. "Exploring the Role of Individual Level and Firm Level Dynamic Capabilities in SMEs’ Internationalization," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 41-74, March.
    19. Svante Andersson & Natasha Evers, 2015. "International opportunity recognition in international new ventures—a dynamic managerial capabilities perspective," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 260-276, September.
    20. Knight, Gary A. & Liesch, Peter W., 2016. "Internationalization: From incremental to born global," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 93-102.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Serial entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial experience; Generative learning process; Internationalization; Export destinations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • M2 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:30:y:2021:i:1:s0969593120301141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.