1. ¹Department of General and Strategic Management, Institute of Global Management Studies, Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2. ²Department of Economics, University of Reading, UK
3. ³Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Department of Strategic Management and Organization, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, MN, USA

Correspondence: Ram Mudambi, Department of General and Strategic Management, Institute of Global Management Studies, Fox School of Business, Temple University, 1810 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. Tel: +1 215 204 2099; Fax: +1 215 204 8029; E-mail: ram.mudambi@temple.edu

Received 9 August 2004; Revised 30 May 2006; Accepted 11 June 2006.

Abstract

International new ventures (INVs) are a popular mode of entry into foreign markets. INVs, those companies that enter foreign markets at inception, often suffer the two liabilities of newness and foreignness, which may increase the odds of their failure. This paper empirically examines the survival of INVs by comparing them with other sequential modes of international operations (e.g., acquisitions). Data from 275 British firms show that INVs have lower unconditional survival probabilities than other modes of foreign market entry. Our analyses also show that differences in survival probabilities disappear when the firms' competitive strategies are considered.