Instant Internationalization of Emerging Economy New Ventures: The Evidence of Family-Owned Venture from Moldova

Being positioned and the intersection of international entrepreneurship and institutional theory, this study explores the process of instant internationalization of new ventures from emerging economies. It adopts a single-case study methodology, purposefully selecting an information-rich case where the phenomenon is manifested intensely, but not extremely. A family-owned venture located in Moldova that is in the business of processing fruit and vegetables was selected for this study. It started up in 2000 and from its inception the sales from exports grew almost 120% per year. Data collection took place in two phases via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with decision makers and their key stakeholders, and unobtrusive data. A set of contributions are put forward. One set relates to understanding the process of legitimation of an emerging industry. Another pertains to understanding the institutional context of an emerging industry. Yet another set of contributions concerns the legitimation process of internationalization of a new venture from an emerging economy. A number of propositions are put forward to guide future research.