Boards and Internationalization Speed
Benjamin Fath, Antje Fiedler, Noemi Sinkovics, and Rudolf R Sinkovics reflect on their article, “On-ramp or speed bump? How boards influence the internationalisation of international new ventures,” published in The International Small Business Journal. Their reflection appears below the paper’s abstract.
What motivated you to pursue this research?
After over a decade of research on fast-growing New Zealand SMEs and start-ups, we noted boards can be both an accelerator and a handbrake of international growth. Hence, we wanted to understand better how the establishment of boards affects internationalization speed.
Were there any specific external events—political, social, or economic—that influenced your decision to pursue this research?
New Zealand is the most physically isolated developed economy in the world. Covid-19 and the travel restrictions that followed brought this isolation to the fore. Our aim was to contribute practical knowledge to help overcome distance-related barriers. This is a pressing issue for the socio-economic well-being of New Zealand’s society.
What has been the most challenging aspect of conducting your research? Were there any surprising findings?
Technology-focused international new ventures targeted mainly investors based in Western markets, in particular the US. This is surprising, given that 3 of the 5 top export markets are in Asia, namely China, Japan and South Korea.
In what ways is your research innovative, and how do you think it will impact the field?
The research is innovative in 2 ways that are likely to affect the field. First, the paper uses pattern-matching as a qualitative method. This method allows staying on top of existing literature while providing the flexibility to unearth new insights from the data. Its strength derives from being grounded in theory as well as the data. Second, the paper draws attention to the governance of fast-growing international new ventures, which we believe is not well understood, and deserves further research.
What did not make it into your published manuscript that you would like to share with us?
The participants cared not only about their ventures’ success but also about contributing positively to society. Their passion and dedication were infectious and truly inspiring.
What advice would you give to new scholars and incoming researchers in this particular field of study?
Identify scholars with complementary knowledge and skills through workshops, conferences and particularly those who you like to be around socially. Working with a great team makes all the difference.
What is the most important or influential piece of scholarship you’ve read in the last year?
A paper that inspired us was by Atman et al, titled: “Revisiting SME default predictors: The Omega Score,” published in the Journal of Small Business Management, because it has important practical implications.
