International opportunity recognition among small and medium-sized family firms
Kontinen, T., & Ojala, A. (2011). International opportunity recognition among small and medium-sized family firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 49 (3), 490-514. doi:10.1111/j.1540-627X.2011.00326.x
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Journal of Small Business ManagementDate
2011Discipline
YrittäjyysCopyright
© 2011 International Council for Small Business. This is a final draft version of an article whose final and definitive form has been published by Blackwell. Published in this repository with the kind permission of the publisher
Current research in the field of entrepreneurship emphasizes the importance of opportunity
recognition as a key element in the entrepreneurial process. It has been recognized that
network ties, activeness and alertness, and prior knowledge are related to how entrepreneurs
recognize new opportunities. However, it is unclear how important these factors are when a
firm explores opportunities for entry into a foreign market. In this exploratory case study,
covering the international opportunity recognition of eight family-owned SMEs, we found
that the firms in question mainly recognized international opportunities by establishing new
formal ties rather than using existing informal or family ties. The findings also indicated that
due to the small size and the flexibility of the management team in family SMEs, these firms
were able to react quickly to new international opportunities. However, there was no direct
relationship between the prior knowledge of the firms and their international opportunity
recognition. In addition, we found that trade exhibitions formed the primary context for the
international opportunity recognition of the SMEs in this study. These findings motivate a
set of five propositions that may lead to further studies on this topic.
...


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