Born-Global Start-Ups in Emerging Economies

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the impact that private-equity financing has on nurturing and developing global entrepreneurs in emerging economies. The research question is: how do potentially high-impact entrepreneurial start-ups in emerging economies rapidly expand globally in order to compete with developed-country competitors. Oviatt’s and McDougall’s (1994, 2005) international new venture typology is used to analyze a case study of an emerging-economy, born-global start-up and its relationship with a venture capital firm, which is crucial to develop a competitive international business strategy.

In spite of operating in an emerging country lacking a well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystem (institutional void), a global start-up in conjunction with a venture capital firm that practiced a hands-on investment strategy, was able to successfully scale its business model globally over a 10-year period. The venture capital firm played a critical role in providing institutional support, lacking in this emerging country, to enable the start-up to quickly grow and become competitive with Western competitors.

Citation

Scheela, W. (2016), "Born-Global Start-Ups in Emerging Economies", Global Entrepreneurship: Past, Present & Future (Advances in International Management, Vol. 29), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-162. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1571-502720160000029010