Hidden ties in international new venturing: The case of portfolio entrepreneurship

A hitherto neglected phenomenon in international new venturing is portfolio entrepreneurship, which occurs when entrepreneurs found, own, manage and control more than one business at a time, with ownership of the new venture being distinct from that of the existing business ventures. This study intr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of world business : JWB 2007-09, Vol.42 (3), p.307-321
Main Author: McGaughey, Sara L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Business partnership
Business studies
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
International markets
International new venturing
International new venturing Portfolio entrepreneurship Resource transfer Legitimacy Opportunity identification
Joint ventures
Legitimacy
Longitudinal studies
Opportunity identification
Portfolio entrepreneurship
Resource transfer
Small & medium sized enterprises-SME
Small and medium sized enterprises
Spillovers
Startups
Studies
Tasmania
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Summary:A hitherto neglected phenomenon in international new venturing is portfolio entrepreneurship, which occurs when entrepreneurs found, own, manage and control more than one business at a time, with ownership of the new venture being distinct from that of the existing business ventures. This study introduces the phenomenon of portfolio entrepreneurship in international new venturing through a longitudinal study of a cluster of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tasmania, Australia, where 6 of 11 firms in the cluster were international new ventures (INVs). The pattern of international portfolio entrepreneurship pursued by the Tasmanian entrepreneurs and coupling between firms is described. Key findings include the ability of portfolio entrepreneurs to leverage high-discretion slack resources, positive legitimacy spillovers, and learning effects and experimentation across loosely coupled INVs in the portfolio. The findings also identify dysfunctional elements of portfolio entrepreneurship, and cast doubt over the conventional use of ‘the firm’ as the focal unit of analysis in INV studies. A particular contribution of this study is to remind us of the richness and pluralism inherent in international new venturing.
ISSN:1090-9516
1878-5573
DOI:10.1016/j.jwb.2007.04.011