A Cross-national Comparison of the Internationalisation Trajectories of Internet Start-Ups

There is considerable current research interest on how the Internet and related technologies can enable smaller firms to internationalise rapidly. Many believe that these technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for such firms to overcome geographic barriers to expansion into foreign markets (Hamill 1999, Poon & Jevons 1997, Samiee 1998, Katz & Murray 2002). Indeed, the argument that smaller firms can particularly benefit from the ability to gather information, promote themselves and service customers in new markets for relatively little expense is very persuasive (Quelch & Klein, 1996; Chattell, 1998; Franson, 1998). Many authors also contend that …