Introduction

Abstract

Driven by advancing information and communication technologies, globe-spanning transportation systems, and the growing economic integration and interdependency of countries worldwide, the world is becoming, metaphorically speaking, an economic global village (Cavusgil and Knight, 2009: 3-6). In this vein, more and more firms tend to transcend national borders to seize business opportunities abroad (BDI, 2010: 24-26; Fletcher, 2004: 289). Remarkably, evidence even hints toward an increasing number of entrepreneurial firms engaging in business activities across borders from the earliest days after their founding (e.g. Karra et al., 2008: 442; Neupert et al., 2006: 536; Rialp et al., 2005: 149-160; Madsen and Servais, 1997: 562). While these early adopters of internationalization first emerged in countries with relatively small domestic markets, they are now appearing in large numbers in virtually all major trading countries (Knight and Cavusgil, 2004: 125).