International Relocations of Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Theory-based View Perspective

We develop a framework for the study of international relocations of entrepreneurial ventures, an understudied, yet strategically and organizationally relevant phenomenon for the international entrepreneurship literature. The framework encompasses cross-border relocations of the venture´s top management team, legal seat, or their combination. Building on the theory-based view, we emphasize the interplay between emerging information and the necessary location assumptions of the venture´s theory of value creation. This interplay yields four distinctive relocation scenarios, carrying normative implications for the venture. Acknowledging bounded rationality, we account for the ability to develop and revise theories in light of emerging information, as well as for cognitive biases and other factors, which may lead to a discrepancy between normative implication and action. We support our framework with illustrative examples.
KEYWORDS: international relocation, entrepreneurial ventures, theory-based view, cognition