Large Pure Internet Firms and Theories of International Business: Australia as a Foreign Internet Market

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Large pure internet firms challenge key assumptions in international business theories. This paper considers the relevance of the eclectic paradigm and ‘born global’ theories to large purely internet based multinationals. By researching four case studies of firms operating in the Australian market, evidence is found for a need to update the theory. Specifically, there is a need to consider the elevated importance of the consumer as a critical resource. Secondly, these firms operate in a market that is borderless and where market entry is a spectrum. Third, complex networking relationships break down boundaries between internal and external. Theory must be developed to analyse the post-born global firm.