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Toward a theory of international new ventures

  • 2004 Decade Award Winning Article
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Abstract

Organizations that are international from inception – international new ventures – form an increasingly important phenomenon that is incongruent with traditionally expected characteristics of multinational enterprises. A framework is presented that explains the phenomenon by integrating international business, entrepreneurship, and strategic management theory. That framework describes four necessary and sufficient elements for the existence of international new ventures: (1) organizational formation through internalization of some transactions, (2) strong reliance on alternative governance structures to access resources, (3) establishment of foreign location advantages, and (4) control over unique resources.

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Acknowledgements

This article was awarded first prize in the 1993 Competition for the Best Paper on Entrepreneurship and Innovation sponsored by New York University's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. We gratefully acknowledge financial support for this research from the Bernard B & Eugenia A Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise at the Georgia State University and from the Society of International Business Fellows, based in Atlanta, GA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Managerial Sciences, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Benjamin M Oviatt

  2. School of Management, Ivan Allen College of Management, Policy, and International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Patricia Phillips McDougall

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  1. Benjamin M Oviatt
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  2. Patricia Phillips McDougall
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Correspondence to Benjamin M Oviatt.

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This paper was previously published in Journal of International Business Studies (1994) 25 , 45–64.

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Oviatt, B., McDougall, P. Toward a theory of international new ventures. J Int Bus Stud 36, 29–41 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400128

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