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The objective of this chapter is to help unpack the performance-enhancing role of certain capabilities that influence the decision of female immigrant entrepreneurs to rapidly internationalise. It employs a capabilities perspective of the broader resource-based theory and contributes to existing research involving capabilities that facilitate or inhibit rapid internationalisation. One strand of earlier literature highlights a potential ‘double disadvantage’ among particular female immigrant entrepreneurs associated with gender and ethnicity. An alternative strand of prior research identifies certain gender and ethnic resources/capabilities like cultural knowledge that can provide potential advantages. Findings from interviews with 11 female immigrant entrepreneurs that migrated to the UK, and selected secondary data, form an instrumental case study. New insights emerge regarding the potential role of appropriate stakeholders in transforming operational capabilities to those of a threshold or potentially dynamic nature. The findings suggest that generalisation should not occur regarding earlier literature investigating practices in other sectors.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate aspects of causation and effectuation decision-making in respect of the planned and unplanned nature of the internationalization strategies of a small sample of rapidly internationalizing, high-tech UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These exhibit four different rates of scale of international intensity (percentage of overseas sales to total sales) and market scope (geographical coverage and commitment).

Interviews with managers of 16 independently owned high-technology-oriented manufacturing SMEs were undertaken in this investigation to reduce the potential effect of bias from parental decision-making and firm size, also trade sectoral conditions. These were drawn from an existing database.

Aspects of both causation and effectuation logic were evident in planned and unplanned aspects of decision-making. Moreover, industry factors were seen to affect internationalization strategies in various ways and not least in respect of the need to exploit windows of opportunity in international niche markets and the usefulness of utilizing managers’ experience and networks in the sector in which firms operated.

The contribution of this study is to build on earlier work where authors have used different terminology to describe firms that have internationalized soon after their foundation. Specifically, with respect to the planned versus unplanned nature of respective internationalization strategies and the causation as opposed to effectuation logic in decision-making.

This paper aims to investigate UK based, family‐owned, Asian firms' motives for internationalising.

This paper reports on eight interviews with the key decision‐makers in UK based, Asian, family‐owned firms.

Differences were found between two groups of firms: first, “internationally oriented Asian entrepreneurs” were those whose manufacturing operations were based in the UK but whose businesses were involved in overseas sales; second, “transnational entrepreneurs” were those who operated in two socially embedded environments and leveraged their family's resources in their country of origin in order to serve overseas markets.

The contribution of this paper is that it offers socio‐cultural insights into issues that motivated these firms to internationalise and especially those that outsourced operations to the Indian sub‐continent.

The purpose of this paper is to provide comparative data from a two‐country study; specifically, into the internationalisation strategies of Canadian and UK high‐tech small and medium‐sized enterprises.

The methodology employed involves 24 in‐depth interviews, 12 in each country.

These suggest that the differences between the firms in the two countries were limited; more similarities were identifiable. Specifically, strategy formation is not as systematic as some previous studies, notably those that focus on the “stage” models, suggest. Entrepreneurs and management teams recognise and exploit opportunities in different ways, ranging from planned strategy formation through to opportunistic behaviour; as such, no single theory could fully explain international entrepreneurial decisions.

The implication of the findings is to offer support to the literature that has suggested a more holistic view should be undertaken in international entrepreneurship research.

The main aspect of originality outside of the comparative data involves accounting for the role of serendipity in unplanned overseas market ventures, an issue lacking in much of the earlier literature.

This paper reports the findings from a postal survey investigating selected characteristics of winners of the Queen’s Award for Export, arguably the premier award for export achievement in the UK. It focuses on one part of the study, namely the extent to which standardisation or adaptation of firms’ international marketing strategies takes place and the research undertaken to arrive at this decision. Based on a sample of 180 firms which were primarily small and medium sized, this study offers a contribution to the literature, and advice to owner‐managers, since it provides empirical evidence of particular aspects of “successful” SMEs’ export strategies. Specifically, in learning from the practices of their successful industrial counterparts, results are presented which support the need for SMEs to undertake research and adapt their export strategies in line with the local requirements in export markets.

This study aims to report on an investigation into decision-making leading to a UK firm’s first export order. It demonstrates the application of appreciative inquiry (AI) as an underutilised research method in marketing investigations.

An AI research approach was undertaken in a firm that had not started exporting at the commencement of the study whereby the interventionist approach allowed the management team to overcome negative perceptions in their decision-making. From a research perspective, marketing decision-making could be understood in real time as opposed to in hindsight.

While the key decision-maker is likely to be the owner/manager in small newly internationalising firms, a variety of factors will affect the decision to start exporting including the influence of the management team. In particular, the management team’s perceptions towards a combination of effectuation- and causation-based decision-making where risk/reward considerations in exploiting various international marketing opportunities are undertaken in light of perceived affordable losses, as well as against evolving objectives.

The contribution is to demonstrate the AI methodology, which to date has received attention in management domains other than marketing; it offers an interventionist approach to help managers overcome barriers and move positively forward in decision-making. It offers researchers an opportunity to understand marketing decision-making in real time.

This study reports on a government funded empirical investigation into UK managers’ export behaviour and assistance requirements and focuses on one aspect of the research, namely perceptions towards selected export assistance programmes. Specifically, it investigates whether differences exist between managers of UK small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) owned by executives from particular ethnic origins, i.e. Asian and indigenous (white)‐owned firms, in relation to their awareness and frequency of use of the programmes, together with their perceptions towards the availability of the assistance schemes. The paper presents statistical differences between the two ethnic groups leading to the recommendation that public policy makers may need to rethink their approach towards the delivery of assistance in order that scarce resources are allocated more efficiently and effectively.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether differences exist between born global (BG) firms and international new ventures (INVs) in respect of their performance in overseas markets. These terms have arguably been used as interchangeable to characterise firms that internationalized rapidly, typically but not exclusively within three years of their business start‐up. The term “global” suggests firms have a presence in at least the world's triad regions and arguably a commitment spread across them. INVs, however, may have internationalized quickly to address opportunities but without necessarily a global presence.

The methodology in this exploratory study employs both quantitative but also primarily a qualitative methodology involving 21 technologically oriented small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) based in the UK. This methodological approach is used to assess the strategies used by the two types of firms after their start‐up phase and the factors that shaped their international trajectory and performance.

The findings provide some initial understanding of the two types of firms' patterns of internationalization and more specifically suggest foreign market strategies can be formulated in various ways, i.e. some planned and others by serendipitous means, but that BG and INVs exhibit different characteristics. BGs focused globally in comparison to the more regional focus of INVs.

The implication of the findings is to suggest that researchers should not use the terms interchangeably to characterise different types of firms and behaviour.

The main aspect of originality is to offer insights into managerial practices of different types of firms that have to date been viewed in some studies as representing the same international marketing behaviour.

In the past decade, research on rapidly internationalizing firms, commonly referred to as “international new ventures” (INVs), has mainly focused on their inception phase and relatively little is known of what becomes of these firms after this period in respect of their international marketing strategies. The purpose of this paper is therefore to gain insights into how management teams within small INVs assess international opportunities and develop appropriate international marketing strategies.

The approach employed involves interviews with key respondents in five small, independently owned firms that have a significant percentage of turnover overseas.

The paper identifies that specific types of knowledge are related to growth strategies as are perceptions of market potential and the management team's vision.

The results of this study provide further understanding of patterns of internationalization and more specifically that foreign market knowledge can be acquired in various ways and allows firms to become more highly committed to some remote markets much earlier than previously anticipated. This understanding could help policy‐makers to provide more targeted and relevant support to INVs.

Both planned and unplanned activities are evident in the research suggesting international marketing growth is not as strategically planned as a good deal of earlier research suggests.

Previous studies have shown that lack of information can provide an obstacle to firms’ endeavour to be competitive in oversea markets. This study provides empirical data that examine how managers of internationalising UK high‐technology firms perceive the usefulness of overseas market information, their levels of utilisation, plus perceptions of the types of data required. Findings are based on a postal survey of winners of the Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement; also reported are selected findings from a series of in‐depth interviews. This paper sets out to establish whether statistical differences exist between two sub‐samples identified by their overseas market expansion strategies: those that concentrate on key markets as opposed to those that spread sales over a number of markets. Results from follow‐up interviews provide in‐depth data to support the quantitative findings.