Start-ups' Internationalization: The Impact of Business Owners' Management Experience, Start-up Experience and Professional Network on Export Intensity

Jonas Debrulle (1, 2) , Johan Maes (1, 2)

1 LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221
2 IÉSEG School Of Management [Puteaux]

This study investigates the influence of business owner experience (management/start-up) and professional networking on start-up export intensity. In addition, we assume networking to mediate the experience – export intensity relationship. Flemish start-ups form this study's empirical setting. Our results indicate that start-up export intensity is directly driven by professional networking. Management experience is a positive antecedent of networking while start-up experience is negatively related to professional networking. All in all, management and start-up experience connect only indirectly to export intensity, fully mediated by networking. Implications and opportunities for future research are suggested.

Mots clés: export intensity; business owner; experience; professional network

Domaines: Gestion et management

Jonas Debrulle, Johan Maes. Start-ups' Internationalization: The Impact of Business Owners' Management Experience, Start-up Experience and Professional Network on Export Intensity. European Management Review, 2015, 12 (3), pp.171--187. ⟨10.1111/emre.12050⟩. ⟨hal-01563020⟩