Leveraging a third-party association in Silicon Valley : Conceptualising Born Global Firm processes for Innovation & Internationalisation

Sammanfattning: The academic society have in the recent past addressed the current ecosystem for new and existing business as a knowledge society. An era of globalisation and advanced technologies, where tacit knowledge has become an essential commodity for all firms in all industries looking to maintain a competitive level of productivity. Consequently, a substantial number of young companies are emerging worldwide with an exogenous approach of receiving knowledge as input in their process of being innovative. They leverage externalities rather than internal research and development. A suggested way of doing this is by utilising the natural advantages and values of an area, often remote from their country of residence. In this study, we suggest that this seeking of regions dense in innovative activity gives rise to young companies performing of international operations. We presume that business is becoming increasingly borderless, and assume the perspective of companies with innate international ambitions, born global firms. We suggest that the reason for early international activity varies from seeking new foreign markets to merely gaining from the input of outside expertise in offshore areas, dense in innovative activities. Following, we use the case of a local third-party association, namely the Nordic Innovation House in Silicon Valley to partly study why and how firms leverage values in the area and further the role of the association. This is done in the context of streamlining innovative and international activity. Findings verify that seeking knowledge as input in the process of innovation is a driving force to international activities. Allowing for interesting connections between previously separated concepts. Furthermore, we account for how a firm leverages the natural advantages and values of an spatially defined area. Finally, we confirm that being able to connect with the right people and gaining relevant knowledge is done with considerably more ease and to a significantly lower cost with the help of a third-party association. Consequently, the firms exhibited accelerated and more efficient processes of innovation and internationalisation.