Born digital firms entry mode in foreign markets

Abstract: The development of digitalization has led to the emergence of a new type of firm, born digital firms. However, how these firms enter a foreign market is not well researched by scholars within the field of entry mode theory in international business. This thesis aims to investigate how a born digital firm enters foreign markets and to explore potential influential factors of their entry mode choice. The empirical results were based on five cases of born digital firms within the health tech industry, and revealed partnerships as an entry mode. The prominent factors to influence the entry mode choice, are found to be the benefits of externalising contra internalising, the digital sphere that these born digital firms operate in, experiential knowledge and networks and relationships. The traditional theories have contributed to identify the aforementioned influential factors, however there is a need for revisitation with complementary research on how born digital firms enter foreign markets and to recognise a main determinant factor for the choice of market entry. With this, the thesis contributes to the existing literature by allowing for a more profound and combined understanding of the academic field within international business in relation to the entry mode of born digital firms.