The internationalization of hidden champions from Germany and the UK: An extension to the Born-Again Global path
研究了德国和英国隐形冠军企业的国际化路径，发现许多企业在首次国际化后通过出口加速扩张，形成“再次全球化”现象，并识别出管理变革、技术进步和产品多元化等关键触发因素。
Although internationalization has been extensively studied, the majority of analyses have focused on motives and enablers, also known as triggers, with less attention paid to internationalization paths. To add to the internationalization paths debate, we explore global niche players dubbed as Hidden Champions from Germany and Britain. Our findings show that a large portion of these firms experience an international ‘rebirth’ by adopting a more accelerated approach to internationalization after already gaining first international experience. This is mainly through exporting activity, which is a variation of the Born-Again Global phenomenon. Due to their unique internationalization path, we call these firms Re-Born-Again Globals. Furthermore, we uncover the critical incidents for the internationalization of these firms, namely changes in management, technology advances, and product diversification.