Network ties in the international opportunity recognition of family SMEs

TLDR: In this article, the authors found that in gaining foreign market entry, those family SMEs that lack existing network ties recognize opportunities through weak ties formed in international exhibitions, and the trustfulness of the tie is important when they consider these opportunities and form new ties for internationalization.

About: This article is published in International Business Review.The article was published on 2011-08-01 and is currently open access. It has received 290 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Interpersonal ties & Internationalization.

Figures

Figure 2 Activeness in the case firms in their search for French opportunities.

Figure 1 Preliminary theoretical approach.

Table 1 Information on the case firms.

Table 2. Types of network tie involved in the recognition of opportunities in the French market.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "Network ties in the international opportunity recognition of family smes" ?

In this case study the authors found that in gaining foreign market entry, those family SMEs that lack existing network ties recognize opportunities through weak ties formed in international exhibitions. From these findings the authors develop five propositions that are intended to lead to further studies on this topic. 

Q2. What are the future works in "Network ties in the international opportunity recognition of family smes" ?

However, the authors extend the understanding about weak ties in this context by revealing that the possibility to develop a new weak tie into a trustworthy one is particularly important for family entrepreneurs in recognizing opportunities for foreign market entry, with a sense of the “ rightness ” of the tie emerging as essential. However, while contributing to an understanding of the topic, this study also points to aspects requiring further research. Thus, further studies are needed in relation to the network development, international opportunity identification, and opportunity exploration of early-internationalizing firms, and of firms having different kinds of ownership structures. It would also be of interest to study the international opportunity recognition of firms by comparing two markets, one with higher and another with lower psychic/cultural distance. 

Q3. What is the importance of studying opportunity recognition at the individual level?

Since it is the entrepreneur, not the organization, that recognizes opportunities, it is important to study opportunity recognition at the individual level (Chetty & Blankenburg Holm, 2000; Ellis, 2008). 

Q4. What is the way to network with family SMEs?

Another option for networking could be export-promotion organizations that could mediate relationships between family SMEs and potential foreign customers or distributors. 

Q5. Why were stronger ties more often used in the early internationalization phase?

Although both weak and strong ties may be considered equally important in international opportunity recognition, Söderqvist and Chetty (2009) found that stronger ties were more often used in the early internationalization phase. 

Q6. What is the only firm that can be considered proactive in its approach to moving into the French market?

Firm C is the only firm that can be considered proactive in its approach to moving into the French market: it actively sought out opportunities, in other words people who could start to establish a subsidiary there. 

Q7. What were the guidelines for retrospective studies given by Miller et al.?

Because the interviews focused on entrepreneurs’ past experiences, the authors followed the guidelines for retrospective studies given by Miller et al. (1997). 

Q8. What did the interviewees describe about their new French cooperators?

In describing their new French cooperators, the interviewees described how the persons they started their cooperation with were agreeable, and how they trusted their instincts as to whether the tie “felt good”. 

Q9. What were the types of networks involved in the international opportunity recognition of family SMEs?

4.1. Types of networksAs Table 2 illustrates, the network ties involved in the international opportunity recognition of family SMEs were intermediary ties, formal ties, and informal ties.