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Born globals’ decision-making logics during their entrepreneurial process

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Abstract

New entrepreneurial logics such as effectuation, bricolage, and causation have become increasingly important in the entrepreneurship literature since the early 2000s. Whereas several studies have shown the compatibility of the three logics over time, few have focused on their combination in the context of the emergence and subsequent international growth of born global firms. Using qualitative research involving seven cases of French born globals, we studied the mix of their decision-making approaches over a period of 11 years. Findings reveal the complementarity of the three logics and their adoption depending on the company’s stage of development and the specific challenges it faces. They highlight the importance of entrepreneurs’ awareness of their dominant mind-set for decision-making and the need to develop their skills in relation to the other mind-sets. Finally, they stress the need to be able to identify the stakeholders’ mind-set to align mutual decision-making processes.

Resumé

Depuis le début des années 2000, de nouvelles logiques entrepreneuriales telles que l'effectuation, le bricolage et la planification ont pris une importance croissante dans la littérature en entrepreneuriat. Alors que plusieurs études ont montré la compatibilité de ces trois logiques dans le temps, peu d'entre elles se sont intéressées à leur combinaison dans le contexte de l'émergence et de la croissance internationale des entreprises nées globales. En mobilisant une recherche qualitative portant sur sept cas d'entreprises françaises nées globales, nous avons étudié la combinaison de leurs approches décisionnelles sur une période de onze années. Les résultats révèlent la complémentarité des trois logiques et leur adoption en fonction du stade de développement de l'entreprise et des défis spécifiques auxquels elles sont confrontées. Nous révélons l'importance de la prise de conscience par les entrepreneurs de leur logique dominante lors de la prise de décision et la nécessité de développer leurs compétences par rapport aux autres logiques. Enfin, nous soulignons la nécessité d'identifier la logique des parties prenantes pour aligner les processus de prise de décision requis.

Resumen

Desde principios de la década de los 2000, nuevas lógicas empresariales como la efectuación, el bricolaje y la planeación se han vuelto cada vez más importantes en la literatura en emprendimiento. Si bien varios estudios han demostrado la compatibilidad de las tres lógicas a lo largo del tiempo, pocos de ellos han analizado su combinación en el contexto del surgimiento y posterior crecimiento internacional de las empresas nacidas globales. Al movilizar una investigación cualitativa que involucró siete casos de empresas francesas nacidas globales, estudiamos la combinación de sus enfoques de toma de decisiones durante un período de once años. Los hallazgos revelan la complementariedad de las tres lógicas y su adopción según la etapa de desarrollo de la empresa y los desafíos específicos a los que se enfrenta. Revelan la importancia para los emprendedores de identificar su lógica dominante para la toma de decisiones y la necesidad de desarrollar sus habilidades en relación con las otras lógicas. Finalmente, destacan la necesidad de identificar la mentalidad de los grupos de interés para alinear los procesos de toma de decisiones requeridos.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Los Andes School of Management, UASM, Bogota, Colombia

    Vinciane Servantie

  2. CREOP, University of Limoges, Limoges, France

    Martine Hlady-Rispal

Authors
  1. Vinciane Servantie
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  2. Martine Hlady-Rispal
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Correspondence to Vinciane Servantie.

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Appendix 1. Synthesis of cases

Appendix 1. Synthesis of cases

 

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

Year of creation

2005

2004

2003

2008

2007

2002

2004

Year of first sales

2007

2006

2004

2008

2007

2005

2004

Year of first exports

2007

2006

2004

2009

2009

2005

2004

Current situation

Bankrupt (2014)

Bankrupt (2011)

Sold (2015)

Sold (2014)

Still performing

Bankrupt (2014)

Sold part of Business Unit (2016)

Interviews (length)

16/07/2009 (2h30)

14/10/2009 (2 h)

15/10/2009 (50 min)

25/11/2009 (1 h)

16/06/2016 (1 h)

16/07/2009 (1h45)

16/10/2009 (1h30)

23/11/2009 (1h30)

24/06/2016 (1H)

21/07/2009 (1h35)

24/11/2009 (1h15)

08/07/2009 (1 h)

25/11/2009 (50 min)

08/10/2009 (1 h)

25/11/2009 (45 min)

16/10/2009 (1h30)

24/11/2009 (1h45)

8/6/2016 (2 h)

13/6/2016 (1 h)

23/1/2007 (1h05)

8/3/2008 (45 min)

22/9/2009 (2h00)

22/3/2016 (45 min)

29/6/2016 (1h15)

October 2018 (mail)

Industry

Medical devices

Biotechnology

Biotechnology

Cosmetics

Internet

Electronic

Chemistry

Offer

R&D in rachis

Large scale Industrial production of RNA

Cell-activity analysis services

Natural capillary treatment for smooth hair

Jobs search meta-motor

Tactile multitouch technology

Production and sales of rare molecules for R&D

Head office

France

France

France

France

France

France

France

Markets

USA, UK, Denmark, Germany, France, Turkey

France, Canada, Finland, Germany, USA, Australia

France, USA, UK, Belgium, Netherlands Denmark, Switzerland

France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, USA

France, Belgium, UK, Spain, USA, Australia

Germany, UK, Denmark, Sweden, USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan

USA, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, India, South Korea, Japan, China

Ownership structure

S.A.S

S.A

S.A

Sarl

Sarl

S.A.S

S.A.S

Manager's profile

Chirurgien/Management

15Y exp. in ind

15Y exp. in int. Markets

no exp. in Eship

Fluent English

Biology/Management

0Y exp. in ind

1Y exp. in int. Markets

no exp. in Eship

Fluent English

Biochemical/Management

3Y exp. in ind

0Y exp. in int. Markets

no exp. in Eship

English correct

Computer Science

1Y exp. in ind

20Y exp. in int. Markets

1 previous exp. in Eship

Fluent English, Port

Mgmt. / computer Sc

3Y exp. in ind

0.5Y exp. in int. Markets

no exp. in Eship

English / SP correct

Physics / Music eng. / electronic

0Y exp. in ind

0Y exp. in int. Markets

no exp. in Eship

Bad English

Chemistry

10Y exp. in ind

15Y exp. in int. Markets

no exp. in Eship

Bad English

Average sales per year (2009)

1 million euros

0.6 million euros

2 million euros

n.c

0.2 million euros

1.3 million euros

1 million euros

Number of employees

9

11

17

5

4

35

2

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Servantie, V., Hlady-Rispal, M. Born globals’ decision-making logics during their entrepreneurial process. J Int Entrep 20, 255–281 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-021-00301-y

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