Drivers and strategies of international new ventures from a Central European transition economy

This paper contributes to SME internationalization theory by offering region-specific propositions on early internationalization of Central and Eastern European (CEE) firms. We suggest that special treatment of international new ventures from CEE transition economies is justified due to constraints faced by their founders, particularly not only limited financial resources but also relatively low human and social capital. We propose that some of the region-specific drivers which contribute to early internationalization involve domestic market entry barriers and arbitrage opportunities related to the higher purchasing power of consumers from developed economies. Additionally, we find that in order to overcome resource limitations, CEE international new ventures apply effectuation and bricolage to exploit controlled resources and flexibly adapt to the market situation.