Venturing Strategy and Growth Pattern of Malaysian Multinational Enterprises

The international entrepreneurship research stream has challenged many of the traditional theories on internationalization and encouraged researchers to examine international business activities from new perspectives (McDougall et al., 2003). Over the years, several theories on international trade and international business have been developed to explain firms’ activities outside their national boundaries such as the classical trade theories by Smith (1994 [1776]) and Ricardo (1978 [1817]). However, these two theories focus on the internationalization process at the national level, rather than at the firm level. Subsequent researchers (see for example, Hymer, 1976; Buckley and Casson, 1976; Dunning, 1988) have contributed significantly to the field of international business by explaining the growth of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and have provided insights into the reasons for foreign direct investment (FDI). The widely acclaimed Upsalla model (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977), which explained that MNEs engage in FDI incrementally and sequentially, has been criticized by entrepreneurship researchers as not being able to explain the emergence of international new ventures (INVs) — those that are new ventures and international from inception (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994, 2005).