Expatriation-enhanced competencies: A multiple case study of technology-based entrepreneurs.

• Author: Machado, Hilka Pelizza Vier

INTRODUCTION

International business and entrepreneurship studies have highlighted the role of entrepreneurs in the internationalization process and cross-cultural experiences of entrepreneurs allowing access to different sources and kinds of knowledge and technology (Adler, 1983; Black & Mendenhall, 1990; Black & Gregersen, 1991; Liu, Wright, Filatotchev, Dai, & Lu, 2010; Schweizer, Vahlne & Johanson, 2010; Sullivan & Marvel, 2011; Brzozowski, Cucculelli, & Surdej, 2017; Deligianni et al., 2019; Baier-Fuentes et al., 2019; Majdouline, El Baz, & Jebli, 2022). One type of cross-cultural experience is expatriation, that is, an immersion in a different culture and institutional context that implies coping with difficulties and unknown situations (Terjesen & Elam, 2009).

While expatriation takes place in various shapes (O'Byrne, 2018), self-initiated expatriation refers to individuals temporarily relocating on their own initiative to the desired host country (Suutari & Brewster, 2000), and searching for skilled/professional qualifications (Cerdin & Selmer, 2014). To date, research on this topic did not thoroughly analyze entrepreneurial knowledge and the effect of learning on entrepreneurial competencies during expatriation. Specifically, research on entrepreneurial learning in international contexts by self-expatriated technology entrepreneurs is limited (Szkudlarek, 2010). Experiences abroad can fuel the development of competencies of this specific category of entrepreneurs, as particularly tech entrepreneurship requires the rapid and intensive development of knowledge and innovation skills (Schweiger, 2012). Expatriation can facilitate the development of new, often tacit knowledge (Burmeister et al., 2015; Junge, Diez, & Schatz, 2015; Liu et al., 2010; Lin, Lu, Liu, & Zhang, 2016; Wang, Zweig, & Lin, 2011; Xiauohui, Buck, & Wright, 2009). As prior research has been silent in this regard, this research seeks to enhance knowledge through exploring the set of skills and entrepreneurial learning derived from expatriation, unraveling self-expatriation experiences, and specifying competencies in the particular light of self-expatriation of technology-based entrepreneurs and their beliefs on skill development during expatriation.

On this note, the purpose of this research is to explore self-expatriated technology-based entrepreneurs' beliefs and experiences across expatriation to identify the enhancement of their competencies. The according research question (RQ) is:

RQ) What are the beliefs of technology-based expatriate entrepreneurs about the development of their competencies during the self-expatriation?

To respond to this question, this research employs a multi case theory-building design. It rests on an in-depth analysis of twelve self-initiated expatriate technology-based entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs are from different American or European nationalities with expatriation experiences in seven destination countries.

This research contributes to the knowledge of competencies by evidencing the influence of self-expatriation experiences on the learning of skills of technology-based entrepreneurs. While most studies focus only on the effect of internationalization on market knowledge and cultural aspects, this study accentuates learning from self-expatriation experiences and specifies the competency-building character of self-expatriation. Furthermore, this study focuses on the process, instead of the results, of self-expatriation to understand the learning of entrepreneurs at the individual level (Doherty, 2013).

This paper proceeds with conceptual foundations regarding the competencies of technology entrepreneurs and expatriation. The subsequent section describes the method and design, followed by results, discussion, and conclusions.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND

Technology-based entrepreneurship

Based on an understanding of entrepreneurship as founding new, small, independent businesses based on perceived entrepreneurial opportunities (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000; Ejermo & Xiao, 2014; Ratinho, Harms & Walsh, 2015), the literature contributed to a nuanced understanding of technology-based entrepreneurs(hip) (Shane, 2001; Giones & Brem, 2017; Majdouline et al., 2022). Commencing with a more processual interpretation of technological entrepreneurship, Shane and Venkataraman (2003, p. 181) pointed to "(...) the process by which entrepreneurs assemble organizational resources and technical systems, and the strategies used by entrepreneurial firms to pursue opportunities". This implies creating, developing, and commercializing new technological solutions against internal and external resistance in connection with the need to scale the new solution - often in international markets. A more assef-centered understanding regards a technology-based venture as a project that "assembles and deploys specialized individuals and heterogeneous assets that are intricately related to advances in scientific and technological knowledge for the purpose of creating and capturing value for a firm" (Bailetti, 2012, p. 9). Skill-based understandings, however, pinpoint the technological innovation as a cornerstone and target of 'techpreneurship' - and regard the integration of technology and business skills as pivotal for implementation (Matejun, 2016; Mosey et al., 2016). Both competencies are vital as technological innovation, rooted in science and engineering, often implies creating new or disrupting old markets - based on technological and managerial moves (Beckman et al., 2012). It also implies accessing international markets early or right from the beginning, which International Business scholars subsume under the 'born global' umbrella (Rialp et al., 2005).

While all the mentioned interpretations contribute to a sound understanding of the nature of technological entrepreneurship, this study particularly builds on skill-based understanding. Given the specific context of expatriation, competencies to cope with content issues of technologies and international or intercultural contexts stand at the fore - and call for learning-based skill development as well as skill refinement and reconfiguring (Teece, 2007; Freiling, Gersch & Goeke, 2008).

Technology-based entrepreneurs, (self-) expatriation, and competencies

Expatriation is an intercultural experience that confronts the expatriate with an unknown context and provokes learning processes to get used to the new setting (Terjesen & Elam, 2009). With the globalization wave of the last decades, the type of assigned expatriation, implying a displacement to a destination country for the sake of work on an extended assignment and in search of an international career, was very prominent in the literature (Howe-Walsh & Schyns, 2010; McNulty & Brewster, 2017; Machado, 2022). While the work context frames the assigned expatriate considerably and limits discretion, the case of self-expatriation is different - and often not considered explicitly or carved out sharply (Andresen et al., 2014). Self-initiated expatriates are people who undertake international experience often without any (organizational) sponsorship. Given the lower level of support, there is much more discretion in what they do - including founding a company (Suutari & Brewster, 2000; Peltokorpi & Froese, 2009).

Notably, the literature is very much aware of assigned expatriation and is more silent in case of self-expatriation (Andresen et al., 2014; Machado, 2022). As the constellation of self-expatriated technology entrepreneurs deviates largely from assigned expatriation - e.g., by a shifted focus from human resource management to entrepreneurship research - this context allows generating new research insights.

The first set of peculiarities stems from the self-expatriation status (Andresen et al., 2014) and relates to longer-term stays and respective embeddedness in the host country, the strong impact of personal motives on their activities, the ambiguous question whether a later repatriation occurs at all, and the official status of their host country stay (Al Ariss, 2010; Banai & Harry, 2004; Andresen et al., 2014). The second set of specific features rests on the international background. On this note, crossing national and/or cultural boundaries and coping with a typically more unfamiliar host country context (e.g., language, habits, practices, rules) are the core challenges self-expatriated technology entrepreneurs face (Al Ariss, 2010). This may cause serious orientation and information problems (Machado, 2022) and goes along with liabilities of foreignness (Nachum, 2003; Politis, 2005), particularly if the individuals are self-dependent. Finally, the third set of factors relates to the 'techpreneurship' background that requires technological orientation, knowledge, and skills as well as absorptive capacity (Zahra & George, 2002) and reliable partners (Liao & Welsch, 2003). Technology-based entrepreneurs can transform the expatriation experience via exploitation or exploration (Politis, 2005). In case of exploitation, the stable behavior becomes the dominant state of the learner, while exploration implies that individuals learn from experiences by exploring new possibilities (Politis, 2005).

Mirroring this profile of self-expatriated technology entrepreneurs against core constructs of organization and management theory reveals particularly four challenges founders have to cope with, (i) Bounded rationality (Simon, 1991) reveals the limited information with follow-up problems like opportunistic behavior due to limited familiarity with the foreign country and/or culture context. Minniti and Bygrave (2001) add with respect to entrepreneurial learning the myopic foresight of entrepreneurs. (ii) Liabilities of foreignness are an additional burden for self-expatriated technology entrepreneurs as they operate in foreign markets (Nachum, 2003). This holds for (iii) liabilities of newness as well as...