The role of entrepreneur’s characteristics to be a born global firm

This paper examines how some key features of an entrepreneur lead early-stage firms (ESF) to become born globals (BG). Specifically, it focuses on human capital, the scope and novelty of the product and the opportunities of the business environment in the early stages of a firm. It contributes to the literature by focusing on some characteristics of the entrepreneur as a possible determinant. We apply logistic regression techniques to a sample obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for the period 2007-2014. The results reveal that the relationship with other entrepreneurs that are becoming aware of good opportunities to start a business and commitment and exploratory innovation contribute to a higher probability of being a BG. Meanwhile, some of the professional skills of the entrepreneur as well as the exploitative innovation in which it operates are not determinants for an ESF to be a BG.