Patterns Identification of internationalization dynamics in Colombia: an approximation of time series

The impact of small and medium-sized companies on the economy of a country is for most government institutions an element of great importance. According to Eurofound (), only for Europe is a phenomenon that is gaining more and more importance, given that between 2011 and 2016 it was reflected in 85% of the creation of new jobs and generated two-thirds of employment in the private sector. For Latin America and the Caribbean, the total number of SME companies is around 95% while the employability figure was 67% (Iadb, 2019). Regarding internationalization processes, the figure is lower than the European figure, which is 15% while in Europe it is 40%. Given the importance of SME dynamics, it is necessary to inquire about those aspects that influence export performance. These aspects start from the analysis of the service or sale of products to regional or global markets. It also required analyzing the need to adopt new technologies that allow them to grow and be able to enter international markets. Scholars argue that there is a need to be able to think about overcoming geographical barriers and considering aspects of their performance such as human capital, technology, and networks. In the current context, very important factors are beginning to appear, such as digitalization that allows a cut in costs through the simplification of the provision of operations. This allows access to international markets but also business contacts, information markets, and sources alternatives solutions (Iadb, 2019). In this way, efforts to undertake actions with approaches in international markets are increasingly consolidated as an alternative for consolidation of business projects. This concept is defined as an innovative, proactive and risk-based behavior that crosses national borders seeking to generate value (McDougall and Oviatt, 2000), supports the emergence of new international companies characterized by following internationalization processes different from the traditional ones (Rialp et al., 2005). Among them we find companies such as Born Global and Family companies that are part of new of international companies that appear in knowledge-intensive sectors where investment in R&D is decisive, driving these companies to internationalize from the beginning (Autio and Sapienza, 2000). In this way, according to authors such as Rennie (1993), Oviatt and McDougall (1994), the Born Global are companies that early seek to obtain competitive advantages by acquiring resources from abroad and selling products to various Destinations. Born Global companies have not followed the gradual path of internationalization (Welch and Loustarinen, 1988) and have become international from the beginning through the development of specific characteristics such as the generation of unique products and services, a proactive international strategy, their specialization and orientation towards different market niches (Jantunen et al., 2008). Consequently, the decision to be a Born Global has been considered as a business strategy (McDougall and Oviatt, 1997), however, studies have been more focused on the description of the nature of Born Global and much less on the strategies assumed to achieve success in international markets. Additionally, its analysis has been carried out statically over time, a situation that has made it difficult to know its trajectory, ways of managing its international strategies, the use of resources and investments. An important point to highlight is that born global are characterized by having a very strong focus on innovation, the use of technology in their processes and product design (Ciravegna, 2013). Despite the above, in the literature it is possible to find few studies that focus on how the context influences their performance (Harveston, Kedia & Davis, 2000). Additionally, studies that have considered some cultural aspects have resulted in the identification of two types of drawbacks: the deficiency of some resources and the need for the search for specific capabilities that provide them with the ability to compete in the markets it serves (Claessens & Fan, 2002). Similarly, most of the studies have focused on culture from an internal perspective, analyzing the behavior of company employees and how it impacts performance. These studies suggest that there is a need to carry out studies that allow the analysis of the cultural contexts that are the context of the operation, in addition to being determined as a line of future research (Harveston et al. 2000; Fitzsimmons, Liao & Thomas, 2017; Chhotray, Sivertsson & Tell, ). This perspective of culture allows us to identify the main external pressures to which global born are exposed, which also determines their performance expectations (Campbell, 2007; Adcock & Collier, 2001). It is important to consider that cultural aspects can present themselves differently between organizations. Even despite, operating in similar contexts, companies tend to adopt different practices that respond to the contexts in which they operate (Richardson and Boyd, 2005). Finally, other studies suggest that there is a possibility that the aspects that may affect the performance of this type of company could vary according to the expectations of the different stakeholders of the company. (Carroll, 1979; Hoffman, 1999; Beugelsdijk, Maseland, and van Hoorn, 2015). The main purpose of this study is to contribute to identifying the influences of cultural dimension in the dynamics of internationalization of the strategies adopted by Born Global companies through the implementation of orientation strategies in the international performance that allows achieve superior performance in their activities in foreign markets. The above consider as a reference a group of 400 exporting companies that have been followed its dynamics since 2011. Within these strategies, aspects associated with its entrepreneurial orientation, international orientation, orientation to innovation will be analyzed.