A Proposal for a Standard With Innovation Management System

Differences
Luísa Carvalho, Teresa Costa and Simone Galina
internationalization of
Westhead et al, 2001;
IT companies.
Moen, 2002.
Comparative study Propositions References
A large markets imply
a slower process of
internationalization;
Companies just initiate
an internationalization
strategy when local
market is saturated.
A small market
determines a higher
investment in R&D;
A small market implies
an earlier and fast
internationalization
process of IT
companies.
7. Concluding remarks
P4.1: Large markets imply a slower
process of internationalization.
P4.2: Companies born in large
markets just initiate an
internationalization strategy when local
market are saturated
P5.1: IT companies born in small
markets present higher investment in
R&D
P5.2: IT companies had born in small
markets present a fast and earlier
process of internationalization and
higher propensity to become born
global
Madsen and Servais,
1997.
Vernon, 1966; Crick and
Jones, 2000; Andersson,
2004; Carvalho, 2010.
The study suggests some evidences about IT companies in Portugal and Brazil. Historically, most IT
companies born as start ups, the founders are very qualified and have strong links with universities
and other sources’ of R&D. The entrepreneurs’ profile, influences the innovation process and
internationalization of IT companies, most of the founding entrepreneurs studied or worked abroad
before starting the venture. Due to the company international orientation the founders recruit human
resources with high qualifications and an international profile. IT companies are players in
international markets and generally have a fast growing process, some of them referenced in
literature as fast growing gazelles (Henrekson and Johansson, 2010; Acs, 2011). The entrepreneur’s
profiles and the international networking/partnership are determinants for the growing process of IT
companies and their internationalization. This discussion contributes to a recently studied issue: the
importance of international network of entrepreneurs and intra-entrepreneurs (Whelan, 2011). Part of
these companies is indentified in the literature as born global (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994; Knight
and Cavusgil, 1996; McDougall et al, 1994; Bell et al., 2001; Gabrielsson and Kirpalani, 2004) and as
so, they capture value (phase 4, tables 2,3,4 and 5, innovation process) from external environment,
affecting their capacity of operation, innovation and performance (Efrat and Shoham, 2011).
The results besides suggest that some internationalization strategies are mainly dependent from their
clients internationalization process, these pattern are more evident in companies that provides
essentially services (Bell, 1995).
The case studies also reveal differences mainly based in the dimension of domestic market and
degree of economic development of studied countries. On the one hand, in the Brazil, a large market
implies a slower internationalization process, because the companies just initiate the
internationalization when local market is saturated. On the other hand, a small market in a developed
country implies higher investment in R&D and a fast and earlier process of internationalization
(Vernon, 1966; Madsen and Servais, 1997; Crick and Jones, 2000; Andersson, 2004).
Finally we believe that within the existing literature, the original contribution of the paper lies on its
comparison of innovation management of IT companies in two countries in different stages of
development and with different dimensions of domestic market. Additionally the study identified clues
and suggests a set of testable propositions that could be empirically confirmed or disproved.
Considering the scarcity of comparative studies applied to IT companies, particularly in the cases of
Portugal and Brazil, further work could investigate other companies, and develop some studies
related to the findings of these study, such as, the relation between the degree of development and
internationalization strategies; R&D and type of the market; entrepreneurs profiles and mindsets in
different countries, etc. and also could contributes to the formulation of policies through the influence
of policy makers to become more aware to the role of IT companies and promote a more close
international trade policy between countries in the similar trajectories.
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