Born local: toward a theory of new venture’s choice of internationalization

This manuscript offers a theory regarding two distinct avenues to new venture internationalization: a direct path described in much of the extant literature and an intermediated one in which new ventures and multinational firms create symbiotic relationships in order to expand internationally. The term “born local”, as opposed to “born global”, describes how new ventures are created from knowledge spillovers and other resources in a geographically bounded environment. The theory suggests that the greater the number of value chain activities and the greater the number of countries involved, the more likely that the new venture will pursue the intermediated mode of internationalization. We suggest that new ventures frequently specialize and use existing MNEs as conduits for international expansion; however the greater the perceived ex-post costs of protecting intellectual property, transaction costs, and extraction costs related to hold-up, agency, and monopoly rents, the more likely the new venture will pursue a direct mode of internationalization.