Research through sense-making entrepreneurship narratives in Sri Lanka.
From the beginning of the 20th Century up to today, large firm internationalization became the attraction of both professional and academic studies. But with globalization, the world had given birth to International New Ventures (INVs) who internationalized from the inception. They have shown vital growth in the economy than the traditional large firms.
The world has understood that traditions plunge and novelty keeps coming with no intermissions. All the paths have opened welcoming people from different corners of the world. The world has become flat letting everybody play on the same level of the ground. It lets every person interact in real-time with many others from every part. This has not happened before but now it has already begun. This signifies the importance of the internationalization of businesses
The success stories are seen today had been created based on an imagination of the greatest passion and exploring capabilities of an individual. Entrepreneur Capabilities (EC) for International Entrepreneurship (IE) was the focus of this study.
The internationalization of firms going off the boundaries is now considered not only a growth option but also a strategic approach for survival. With the technological and communication advancements, small firms are looking to spread their business model beyond the local market strategically.
The Global SME Mindset, has taken 2100 SME senior executives from 21 countries and shows that they generate 66% growth in high-revenue operations outside home markets and 129% business growth. These SMEs are doing business in at least six countries. According to the research done about the internationalization of Sri Lankan award-winning small business owners by Hewapathirana (2009) illustrates the majority of small business owners’ businesses are happening through cross-nationals. As per BIS (2010), paying attention to international business is supportive for business growth and survival.
Furthermore, it says looking at international business such as exports for developing countries, play a vital role in accelerating economic growth. This growth acceleration has remarkable support for poverty reduction and employment creation for a developing country.
Hence, the objectives of the study were to recognize who is an international entrepreneur, what EC was demonstrated by international entrepreneurs originated in Sri Lanka when they initiate and engage in IE, what EC have they recognized as significant in their journey and how those can be developed by another entrepreneur, by analyzing sense-making narrations in the digital disruptive technology industry in Sri Lanka because Sri Lanka is becoming a potential player in digital disruption.
The case study method was used with a phenomenological approach to analyze in-depth qualitative narrative data collected from face-to-face interviews. The data were triangulated using documents and interviews with industry leaders who became international entrepreneurs from the inception of digital disruption in Sri Lanka selecting information-rich cases. The main unique Entrepreneur Capability was the universally applicable thoughts which they could generate through atypical integration, cross-cultural understanding, discipline and maturity.
Treating businesses like family members / noble friends which they built long-lasting relationships is another. Because of these relationships, they could go after living up to their dreams, accepted high risks with the locus of control, their frankness and walked the talk.
Inspirational leadership quality which the leader always stayed in the front line. Proactiveness and opportunity hunting capability also were supportive. Language and communication capability was the next. Flexibility and being able to change was also added to Entrepreneur Capability expressed by Sri Lankan International entrepreneurs.
These Entrepreneur capabilities were built and developed during their childhood. The childhood experiences, the moment of truth of their guardians (Parents / Teachers etc.) and by getting the right inspiration, they could develop a solid base of Entrepreneur Capability to conquer the world later on. Even though the International Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneur Capability research domain focussed on organizational capabilities, this study witnessed that International Entrepreneurship required more prominence put on the entrepreneur’s collectivist perspective of making a positive impact on the global community, as it’s the person who made International Entrepreneurship a success. Not only big firms but also capable small firms from developing countries such as Sri Lanka can be sustained in international markets through their highly capable collectivist personal capabilities. The outcome of this research enhances the understanding of Entrepreneur capabilities for International Entrepreneurship for developing countries. Findings can be taken to improve policies of the government and SME supportive institutions to develop new policies and procedures to develop the International Entrepreneurship culture in Sri Lanka.
Inspirational leadership quality which the leader always stayed in the front line. Proactiveness and opportunity hunting capability also were supportive. Language and communication capability was the next. Flexibility and being able to change was also added to Entrepreneur Capability expressed by Sri Lankan International entrepreneurs.
These Entrepreneur capabilities were built and developed during their childhood. The childhood experiences, the moment of truth of their guardians (Parents / Teachers etc.) and by getting the right inspiration, they could develop a solid base of Entrepreneur Capability to conquer the world later on. Even though the International Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneur Capability research domain focussed on organizational capabilities, this study witnessed that International Entrepreneurship required more prominence put on the entrepreneur’s collectivist perspective of making a positive impact on the global community, as it’s the person who made International Entrepreneurship a success. Not only big firms but also capable small firms from developing countries such as Sri Lanka can be sustained in international markets through their highly capable collectivist personal capabilities. The outcome of this research enhances the understanding of Entrepreneur capabilities for International Entrepreneurship for developing countries. Findings can be taken to improve policies of the government and SME supportive institutions to develop new policies and procedures to develop the International Entrepreneurship culture in Sri Lanka.