KÜRESEL ZİHNİYET VE AR-GE YOĞUN KOBİ’LERİN ULUSLARARASILAŞMASI: TÜRKİYE BİYOTEKNOLOJİ SEKTÖRÜ ÖRNEĞİ
GLOBAL MINDSETS AND INTERNATIONALIZATON OF R&D INTENSIVE SMEs: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY FROM TURKEY

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of this study is to explore the role of the Global Mindset on the internationalization of Turkish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the studies on the relationship between global mindset and internationalization have predominantly focused on large enterprises as the primary unit of analysis (eg Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989; Adler and Bartholomew, 1992; Harvey and Novicevic, 2001; Begley and Boyd, 2003; Beechler et al. 2004, Bouquet, 2005; Levy et al. 2007; Javidan and Bowen, 2013), in recent years, there has been a growing interest on the relationship between global mindset of SMEs and their internationalization behavior (eg Nummela et al. 2004; Weerawardena et al. 2007; Lazaris and Freeman, 2018; Kyvik, 2006; Mughan and Kyvik, 2010; Kyvik, 2011; Felicio et al., 2012; Felicio et al. 2013; Kyvik et al. 2013; Felicio et al. 2015; Felicio et al. 2016). In particular, two complementary streams of research in global mindset of SMEs have evolved: Individual role and institutional role on the formation of global mindset and SME internationalization. The first stream of research has mostly dealt with the mindset-forming role of top management on the formation of a global mindset and their firms’ internationalization behavior. This stream of research often associates the antecedents of global mindset with the decision makers’ work experience, education background, language skills and personal characteristics such as cognitive flexibility, teamwork and interpersonal skills argues. The second stream emphasize the effect of institutional and industrial contexts on the formation of a global mindset of SMEs. The starting point of this research is that studies which combine both of these streams of research is rare. Institutional environment of developed and emergent countries differs and matters on formation of global mindset. Since institutions enable the market mechanism to function effectively in the market economy (Peng et al, 2008) firm strategies and decision makers’ behaviors are affected accordingly (Meyer et al., 2009). Additionally, culture and individual cognitions are significantly interrelated (Goktan and Gunay, 2011), Looking at both individual and institutional and market conditions that shape the formation of a global mindset are especially necessary in countries with different levels of institutional development, market conditions and cultural structure. In this regard, it is important to explore the role of global mindsets on internationalization process of SMEs in a country such as Turkey, where the institutional, economic and cultural backgrounds of SMEs are disparate. In order to increase our understanding of the role of global mindsets in this process, this research aims to answer a set of interrelated research questions as follows: (a) Do Turkish R&D intensive SMEs have global mindsets, and if so, what are the main ideas that shape the thinking of those who have global mindsets. (b) How do institutional environment, domestic market conditions, managers’ cognitive features influence on global mindsets, and (c) what are the main mechanisms of internationalization of R&D intensive SMEs? In this paper, a qualitative and exploratory research approach has been adopted to explain the role of the global mindset on the internationalization process of SMEs. A multiple case study was considered to be an appropriate method for this study as it allows us to best understand the process in a holistic manner. Issues revolving around the formation of global mindset in R&D intensive SMEs, the characteristics of the global mindset and their role on internationalization can be far more effectively discussed using a comparative approach. The research focuses on SMEs from the biotechnology sector with intensive R&D. Within the scope of the research, 19 biotechnology companies in total were studied. The biotechnology industry was considered the most desirable industry-setting for a number of reasons. Firstly, the biotechnology industry has been widely acknowledged in literature as a knowledge-intensive industry (Grinstein & Goldman 2006), which makes the firms in this industry theoretically desirable for this research as they may follow different internationalization patterns. Secondly, since the internationalization process of R&D intensive sectors has a high potential to follow a different pattern from the traditionally-accepted gradual and sequential internationalization, the companies in this sector can gain the status of an international firm with international R&D joint venture even before they produce products or services. There are two main reasons why this research focuses on R&D intensive SMEs. Firstly, the antecedents and outcomes of the formation of Global Mindset in SMEs are an emerging topic and have received more attention from the scholars recently. However, most of these studies are generalized without considering R&D intensive SMEs. Given the different patterns of internationalization and their potential for a rapid internationalization, R&D intensive SMEs are included in this study. Secondly, and more importantly, R&D intensive SMEs in an emerging country such as Turkey, whose share of advanced technology and R&D intensive sectors in exports is quite low, are uniquely positioned to contribute the innovation ecosystem of the country. Therefore, investigation of the main ideas that shape the thinking of managers of SMEs who have global mindsets, factors that shape the formation of global mindsets, and main mechanisms of internationalization of R&D intensive SMEs is quite important for a country characterized by weak institutional environment and low level of economic development. This study had several key findings with the most important being that the primary motivation of R&D intensive SMEs with a global mindset in internationalization is the desire of achieving prestige. This is particularly important in terms of the activities of the company in its country of origin. The motivation for internationalization for firms in the literature is addressed in broad categories such as firm-specific factors, environmental factors and firm characteristics (Katsikeas and Piercy 1993); however, prestige is not adequately discussed. In our study, the determination of such an element can be evaluated as a country-specific characteristic. Another motivation for internationalization which this study found is the desire to contribute to the national economy. A significant number of SMEs state that companies in the local markets should contribute to the national economy through internationalizing. This motivation is also not included in related literature of internationalization. In addition to the aforementioned motivations found by our study which have otherwise been neglected by the literature, our findings on the necessity of having a global mindset regarding R&D intensive SMEs coincide with the academic literature. Considering internationalization as an opportunity for market expansion, interpreting internationalization as a means of learning competitiveness, being proactive, caring for foreign customers and taking advantage of global opportunities are also features of many different studies (eg Crick, 2007; Cavusgil and Godiwalla, 1982; Katsikeas and Piercy, 1993). The key finding of the second research question is that the cognitive factors affect the formation of global mindset. This is because the most important factors affecting the formation of global mindset is the desire to learn how processes work globally and SMEs’ low tolerance levels for uncertainty. Although their learning focus is generally competitiveness, it is possible to say that their high motivation for learning is as a result of their low tolerance levels for uncertainty. The institutional environment can also negatively affect the formation of the global mindset. In Turkey, the government is the most influential institutional actor (Whitley, 2000); therefore, the role of the government cannot be ignored. The negative role of the institutional environment, however, is not limited to the government. The low level of university-industry cooperation, the limited impact of umbrella organizations, and the weakness of the financial system, particularly those that support entrepreneurship and innovation, such as risk capital companies, are other factors that have a negative impact on the development of a global mindset in SMEs. When the internationalization mechanisms of R&D-intensive SMEs are analyzed, the study reveals that R&D activities are a prominent mechanism in facilitating internationalization process. However, despite the international R&D collaboration opportunities, the level and speed of internationalization were low. To some extent this can be explained by the fact that, despite having a high internationalization motivation, the capacity of business development of the R&D intensive SMEs is insufficient comparing to R&D capacity. This may be due to the fact that SMEs, which often conduct international business development activities through distributors and dealers, do not set up their own business units or do not engage in business development activities through different networks. The key contribution of this study lies in the provision of new evidence from an emergent country and understanding of formation of global mindsets of R&D intensive SMEs and their internationalization mechanisms. The literature on the phenomenon of the global mindset essentially deals with two different disciplinary axes: international business and organizational behavior. While the international business discipline focuses on the impact of the global mindset of managers on the internationalization strategies of firms, organizational behavior literature seeks to understand and categorize the cognitive structures necessary for global mindset formation. When the case is approached in this binary way, problems arise in the conceptualization of the subject which also cause an inadequate or unclear research framework. This study deals with the global mindset though drawing on both disciplines and contributes both to the international business and organizational behavior literature by making some points regarding formation of global mindsets of R&D intensive SMEs and explaining their mechanisms of internationalization.

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