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Export promotion organisations in a number of countries have initiated programs to broker networks of relationships between small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Their goal is to assist firm growth and promote export activity. However, an explicit framework that explains why public facilitation of inter-firm relationships is necessary, and how economic benefits are derived, is generally absent from both the rationales for these programs and the extant academic literature on export promotion. In this paper we argue that the concept of corporate social capital (CSC) recently advanced by Leenders and his colleagues (Leenders & Gabbay, 1999), along with the broader literature on social capital, provide a relevant framework. The essence of our reasoning is that network-brokering programs attempt to correct failures in the market for relationships between SMEs brought about by the public good nature of CSC. Networking enhances external economies, levering the resources available to firms, and improving opportunities for growth and export expansion. This furthers societal interests in productivity, employment growth, and the expansion of export activity. We illustrate this argument using general findings from the literature on SME networking, and our observations of New Zealand's export promotion programs.

Examines Web sites of firms in high technology business markets, and identifies three categories of sites: image building sites, sales assistance sites, and integrated sites. This categorisation is derived from a content analysis of the Web sites of 150 members of the American Electronics Association. The motives for establishing a Web site, site objectives, the Web site planning process and methods of evaluating site effectiveness were investigated through e‐mail interviews with the people responsible for the Web sites in 28 firms. The results reinforce the importance of links from objectives through implementation, control and effectiveness/performance assessment.

The literature advises managers that under certain conditions developing an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) may lead to superior financial performance. However, little guidance has been forthcoming about how to develop an EO and the impediments that may be encountered. Data collected from senior managers in 120 Canadian firms in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector reveal four sets of capabilities that enhance EO (research, recruiting and retention, building customer relationships, and decision-making processes), and three primary impediments (risk-aversity, complacency, and scarcity of capital or other resources). This study provides practical insight into how firms can develop their EO.

While the internet enjoys increasing interest regarding its potential to extend the global reach of firms, especially small and medium‐sized firms (SMEs), little work has been done on the viability of the internet as a new and effective path to internationalization. Specifically, it is unclear how the internet can successfully support export marketing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the drivers and performance outcomes of two patterns of internet use supporting export marketing: the internet as an alternative to a physical presence and the internet as a sales channel.

Data were collected from 115UK‐based SMEs involved in “active online internationalization”. Relationships are examined in a “soft‐modeling” partial least squares (PLS) analysis.

The findings suggest that online channel support positively enhances export performance for SMEs. Yet, the use of the internet as an alternative to a physical market presence does not lead to higher export performance. Specifically, born‐global firms that are relying too much on the internet are prone to fall into the “virtuality trap”. Entrepreneurial firms that use the internet as a sales channel can improve their overall performance, however.

This paper provides some empirical evidence of the existence of the notion of the “virtuality trap”. The paper also shows that the internet can serve a valuable complementary role. Traditional exporters are likely to use the internet as a complement to, and thus to support, existing physical operations.

Managers should focus on relationship building and on‐site learning, instead of putting too much emphasis on the internet as a substitute for a physical market presence.

The authors develop a framework and explore previously untested relationships that suggest the internet may play a complementary role in firm internationalization.

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize “entry node”, to describe the entry node pattern (i.e. the initial entry node and changes in it) of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) entering emerging market business networks, and to determine how network nodes are associated with experiential knowledge.

Using data from an on‐site survey based on a standardized questionnaire, hypotheses were tested using ANOVA on 197 SMEs in southern Sweden that entered the emerging markets of the Baltic States, Poland, Russia, or China.

The entry node is the establishment point into a foreign market network. In total, four entry situations are defined – triad via home market; triad via host market; dyad from home market; and dyad at host market – each using different entry nodes. After initial entry, one third of the firms changed their nodes, primarily into a more committed node. Various nodes display significant differences in the level of accumulated societal, business network and customer‐specific experiential knowledge. A more committed node is associated with more experiential knowledge.

Knowledge is complex to measure, since various factors influence the level of accumulated experiential knowledge. This study examines the association between types of nodes and experiential knowledge, but does not aim to explain knowledge accumulation. Perceptual measures are used and possible method biases involved are safeguarded through an on‐site survey method.

This paper conceptualizes the novel concept of entry node, provides insight into the SME node pattern in emerging markets and examines the association between nodes and experiential knowledge.

To test the hypothesis of increased specialisation during the 1980s in the aggregate pattern of intercorporate ownership in the Canadian economy.

The network of ownership between enterprises and subsidiaries is characterised for the period 1976‐1995 using data for the population of medium‐sized and large Canadian corporations collected by Statistics Canada.

Aggregate diversification declined slightly over the period in terms of the average number of industry groups in which enterprises have subsidiaries. However, there was an increased likelihood that subsidiaries were outside of the core industry group of the enterprise.

The data provide insight into ownership changes across the economy and are not sensitive to changes in a few very large firms. However, a weakness of these data is that the ownership linkages are not weighted to reflect the economic importance of the enterprises involved. There is evidence that the pattern of inter‐corporate ownership is different between manufacturing and service sectors. Future research should treat these separately.

Increased specialisation to the core industry of an enterprise has implications for the management skills required to design and manage networks of independent firms (for example, through strategic alliances), the performance expectations and risks taken by shareholders, and the commercial and tax policies set by government. At an aggregate level, a reduction in diversification may change the industrial structure of the economy, with sectors less integrated through ownership relationships, and thus potentially more sensitive to patterns of market exchange.

Much of the literature on the effect of ownership restructuring on aggregate diversification is focused on the US economy, and there is little empirical evidence in the Canadian context. The data are unique, representing a population of medium‐sized and larger firms. To our knowledge there are no published analyses of the ownership structure represented in these data.

Current conceptualizations of born‐globals lack a full theoretical explanation of strategic re‐structuring through the use of outward and inward‐oriented activity and the processes of de‐internationalization and re‐internationalization. Strategy and internationalization processes are created by entrepreneurial behaviour. If one wants to understand various international behaviours and strategic changes in firms one needs to focus on entrepreneurs – individual managers. The purpose of this paper is to unify the theoretical framework on born‐globals by addressing two questions. How do managers move through the de‐internationalization (exit) to re‐internationalization (re‐entry) process? How do they choose their patterns of internationalization?

To address these research gaps, this study draws on 26 in‐depth interviews with senior managers across nine Australian born‐globals.

Moving between outward and inward‐oriented activity as they de‐internationalize and re‐internationalize is used as proactive strategic re‐structuring by born‐global managers for survival during periods of global economic decline or changing competitive conditions.

This study provides new theoretical insights where the entrepreneur is central to the internationalization process and provides practical implications for those involved in international business and marketing.

This paper seeks to provide evidence that the long‐term success of capital‐intensive technology products requires continuous integration of innovations in the form of new features and capabilities that meet broad user preferences.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research centers, which represent lead users in this industry, are used as a case study. An online survey was developed to identify and rank the main factors behind brand switching, then secondary sources are used to confirm the research results.

A multi‐faceted approach to data collection is used to show that product innovations in the form of specific features are the main motive for switching to a new technology, consistent with the expectation that lead users seek technologies that maintain leading‐edge positions.

There are limitations to generalizing from this case study to other industries. The findings can be generalized to industries with similar characteristics, such as aircraft and heavy machinery manufacturing. In practice, managers should find a reliable strategy to assess factors underpinning brand switching that is unique to their industry. Determining the main factors behind switching is a critical matter when defining the appropriate strategy to keep their market share from eroding.

The literature reports considerable research that investigates brand switching. However, most of it focuses on highly competitive markets for consumer goods. This paper addresses a paucity of knowledge about what influences lead users of capital‐intensive products to switch between brands.

This chapter synthesizes works contained within the volume and paints a picture of where entrepreneurial orientation (EO) research stands today and where it is likely heading in the future. From the necessity for better theorizing and measurement to new directions and context, today’s research into EO is setting the foundation for future research that brings greater understanding to what it means for firms and organizations of all types to be entrepreneurial.