The effects of entrepreneurs’ characteristics on internationalization of Gazelle firms: a case of Lithuania

Abstract

In recent years so-called Gazelle firms or high growth firms (HGFs) have been the interest of policy makers, however little is known about entrepreneur-level determinants affecting internationalization of these firms. Thus, the research aims to extend the literature addressing the impact of entrepreneurs' characteristics on the internationalization of HGFs in Lithuania. The research sample was drawn from the population of Lithuanian HGFs directly approaching the owners and members of the management team. The final sample included 177 internationalized firms. The analysis was based on the binomial logistic regression to test the hypotheses. The results reveal that entrepreneurial networks and foreign language capabilities of owners/managers are good predictors of internationalization degree. However, the research confirms the decreasing effect of domestic ties, the higher degree of internationalization. The research did not reveal the significance of entrepreneurial and managerial competencies of owners/managers for internationalization success. Furthermore, the study did not support the relationship of owners/managers' education abroad and internationalization. The research makes the twofold contribution to the extant literature. First, the research develops and tests the relationships surrounding the internationalization of HGFs as related to managerial and entrepreneurial competencies, entrepreneurial networks and international background of owners/managers. Second, the research highlights entrepreneur-level determinants affecting internationalization of HGFs in CEE country’s context.