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Title: Born Global: the case of knowledge-intensive services in Southern Spain

Authors: Clara Martos-Martínez; Marta Muñoz-Guarasa

Addresses: Department of Economics, University of Jaén (Campus de Las Lagunillas), Jaén, Spain ' Department of Economics, University of Jaén (Campus de Las Lagunillas), Jaén, Spain

Abstract: The objective of this article is to understand how Knowledge-Intensive Services (KIS) firms can be Born Global right from inception or within a few years (three) of their foundation. To that end, we analyse four cases of KIS firms (two KIS firms that are Born Global right from inception and two KIS firms that are Born Global within the first three years). The firms are from the south of Spain (Andalusia) and operate in the renewable energy and consultancy sectors. The methodology used consists of case analysis and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). We find that these firms should pursue international market-, network- and entrepreneurship-oriented strategies in order to acquire dynamic knowledge, networking and innovation capabilities. By so doing, KIS firms will be able to follow an accelerated internationalisation process and thus be Born Global.

Keywords: knowledge-intensive services; BG; Born Global; internationally-oriented strategies; dynamic capabilities; case study; QCA; qualitative comparative analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2024.143381

European Journal of International Management, 2024 Vol.24 No.5, pp.1 - 27

Received: 10 Jan 2024
Accepted: 10 Sep 2024
Published online: 16 Dec 2024 *