Chapter 7 Value Creation by Small Firm Internationalization: A Competence-Based Approach

This study examines the relationship between the competencies of the small business owners and their interest in international activities. Based on a review of the literature and a quantitative empirical survey among 803 newly founded Austrian companies, the chapter identifies the central explanatory variables of internationalization, thus contributing to a theoretically based conceptualization of this phenomenon. Previous conceptualizations of small firm internationalization are extended and specified. This reveals the necessity for a wider inclusion of utilized resources throughout the internationalization process. Moreover, the impact of the structure of social capital of a business owner on the decision to start international activities is examined. The findings elucidate differences between performance drivers with regard to the network, marketing, and technology competence of the small business manager. The study repudiates the Uppsala Model in favor of the “born global hypothesis.”