The Born global model of Internationalization

Some newer firms are not gradually approaching global markets but they are jumping directly into global markets. Such firms are termed ‘Born Globals’.

The Born Global Model is a business strategy in which a company engages in international business right from its inception. This is a contradictory approach to most other traditional internationalization models, which typically suggest gradual expansion into foreign markets over a period of time.

In recent years, research has identified an increasing number of firms that do not follow the traditional stage model approach (gradual and incremental approach towards expansion in foreign markets).

By contrast they aim at international markets from their birth and are called BORN GLOBALS.

A born global is “a firm that from its inception pursues a vision of becoming global and globalizes rapidly without any preceding long term domestic or internationalization period”.

These firms recognize from the beginning that their customers and competition are international. This is particularly true for many high-tech start up companies.

Example: Logitech’s market coverage and its marketing strategy were global virtually from its inception. The company not only opened sales offices rapidly through-out the world. But it also established factories on China, Taiwan, the United States, Switzerland, and Ireland.

Born globals make use of the “time-space compression” phenomenon (Harvey 1996) which allows geographical processes to be reduced and compressed into ‘here and now’.

Usually they tend to be managed by entrepreneurial visionaries who view the world as a single borderless marketplace. These often include small tech companies.

Globalization and advancements in technology makes it possible for smaller firms to compete on a global scale almost from their inception.