The Impact of Social Networks on “Born Globals”

This paper aims to explore the role and impact of entrepreneurs' social networks on the internationalization of "Born Global" firms, in particular, its de-internationalisation process. The research is based on a case study approach; it is guided by the social constructionist paradigm. It adopts a series of face to face and online interviews longitudinally; an inductive analysis approach was applied to develop the framework. This paper disclosed the impact of the entrepreneur’s social networks on a "Born Global" firm’s development. It gains useful insights in the relationships management of "Born Global" entrepreneurs and it unveils the negative impacts of social networks and the ‘de-internationalisation’ process. Finally, it reveals the importance of online social networks and high tech communication and management techniques for "Born Global" entrepreneurs. The most significant contribution of the study is to point out the importance of social networks in studying the internationalization of “Born Globals”, in particular, its de-internationalisation process.