Programa de Desarrollo Emprendedor

Does entrepreneurs’ human and relational capital affect early internationalisation? A cross-regional comparison.

Using data of young firms from Latin America and Mediterranean Europe, we analyze the influence of human and relational capital on the likelihood of creating an early internationalizing firm (EIF). Our results indicate that in the context of Latin American countries entrepreneurs’ characteristics as well as their networks of relationships may influence decisively the likelihood of creating an EIF. Particularly, our findings indicate that young as well as senior, well-educated entrepreneurs who built entrepreneurial teams and, at the same time, had access to larger and more professional networks constitutes the typical profile of an EIF founder in Latin America. In contrast, the results for the Mediterranean Europe sample reveal that human and relational capital variables are less relevant. The results of this paper would contribute to the empirical literature analyzing evidence from some less studied countries. Likewise, our results could serve as guidelines to those interested in supporting the emergence in EIF, particularly in Latin America.

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