The importance of human capital in the early internationalisation of Indian knowledge-intensive service firms

This study explores how human capital is inherently related to the early stage survival and competitive sustenance of born global firms. Based on longitudinal in-depth case studies of five knowledge-intensive service born global firms from India, this study suggests that differences in entrepreneurial human capital influence the acquisition of external human capital, pace of learning and innovations in born global firms and, consequently, their early stage survival and sustained growth. Thus, this study contributes to the ongoing research on born global firms. Moreover, this study suggests that human capital-based capabilities and their interaction increase internationalisation and minimise the risk of failure in born global firms.