Mod2 Week 1 Hand in Assignment Review of Oviatt and...

MOD2 WEEK 1 HAND IN ASSIGNMENT REVIEW OF OVIATT AND McDOUGALS Toward a Theory of International New Ventures Oviatt and Mcdougall in their paper, Toward a Theory of International New Ventures, tried to identify and define International New Ventures in the context of the global marketplace. Their work gained global acclaim in its bid to pose questions about the validity of existing theory on internalization. A decade later, Zahra’s work titled â€Å"A theory of international new ventures: A decade of research† attempts to build on prominent aspects of the work of Oviatt and McDougall with the hope of highlighting their important contributions to the field of international new ventures. I will attempt to highlight the areas where Zahra’s work†¦show more content†¦FACTORS GIVING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Age, entrepreneurial activities and actions undertaken by INVs have all been mooted by various authors to bring about competitive advantage. However, according to Zahra, what matters is how these firms compete when they enter the market. Furthermore, companies who choose to see things differently are able to create superior value from their business in relation to their competitors. Basically, these INVs identify hidden opportunities in the international markets and they usually tap new potentials identified with new methods. Again, significant value can be tapped from within an organization if the founders are able look inwards and innovate. This might be in the form of a new product totally different from those in the market or by changing the internal processes that creates old products thereby making them more efficient. In this case, the organizational form might be the factor conferring competitive advantage. According to Zahra, Oviatt and McDougall overlooked a critical aspect that confers competitive advantage. He posits that the institutional environment and economic geography can not only build, but can sustain competitive advantage for an INV. He identified the subtleties such as culture, history and geography which can have a profound effect when you are dealing with opportunities in a new country or territory. They also go a