The Early and Rapid Development of Global Startups

Global Startups (GSs) are identified as the most radical manifestation of International New Ventures (INV)/Born Globals (BGs) since they are able to sell more than 25% of their products in foreign countries and coordinate several business activities in different markets after few years from their foundation. They are usually founded by entrepreneurs who start the international path before the official foundation of their ventures. The focus on the coordination of many activities across countries and the presence in several markets allow to identify some common aspects they have with BGs, but also some different features. For instance, like BGs these firms are characterized by a proactive behavior in the research of opportunities. Instead, unlike BGs, they are involved in the coordination of several cross-border activities among which exportation, offshore, R&D, joint ventures, or production subsidiaries. Furthermore, in literature scholars focus on factors that drive companies to choose a global approach and on factors that favor an early and rapid expansion. Nevertheless, the studies identified were conducted mainly on BGs or on high-tech startups; only few of them specifically focus on the development of GSs. For this reason, a more comprehensive framework focused on this type of firms could help in clarifying what elements drive towards a global approach, and which of them support their development. The principal aim of this study is to understand and examine the elements that drive firms towards the choice of an early and rapid global approach, analyzing those factors that support the growth of Global Startups. To achieve our objective, a multiple case study method will be adopted by focusing on GSs as firms that are able to coordinate several value-chain activities in many countries, within three years from their foundation. As suggested by the literature, the analysis of entrepreneur characteristics and firm’s traits is important in order to understand how they influence the firm’s global expansion. Then, for examining the development of GSs, a framework based on Baronchelli and Cassia (2008, 2014) and few other studies (Cannone et al., 2012; Bailetti, 2012) has been developed. Several factors identified in literature as important drivers for a global approach, and supporters of the early and rapid expansion of GSs has been included.