A key objective of many BGs is to establish, very quickly, a foothold in multiple foreign markets (Mort et al.
BGs typically enter foreign markets soon or immediately after their founding and must therefore endure liabilities of foreignness (Zaheer and Mosakowski 1997).
Therefore, while domestic new ventures often experience an initial period of establishment where financial returns are unlikely to be achieved, the phase is likely to be more extended for BGs progressing through rapid internationalisation.
The role played by psychic distance in the initial market selection of BGs remains unclear.
However, for BGs that originate from small, saturated domestic markets and in industries that operate globally with industrial relevance elsewhere, the domestic market may hold little relevance (Chetty and Campbell-Hunt 2003).
Entering psychically distant markets in the early international entry/development phase of their development requires BGs to undertake a process of learning and adaptation that may inhibit immediate financial returns (Barkema and Drogendijk 2007).
While some BGs have originated from larger countries, they more frequently emerge from small, open, and advanced economies (Almor, 2013; Chetty and Campbell-Hunt 2003; Freeman et al.
Because this study adopted IE theory as its theoretical lens, initial sampling was focussed on Australian BGs that met the abovementioned criteria.
Early and rapid internationalisation places additional pressures on BGs, further heightening the risk of failure (Mudambi and Zahra 2007).
Interviews lasted 1-2 h, providing in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by BGs, and how these influenced the measurement of performance.
A number of techniques (Yin 2011) were used in the analysis of data, consistent with other cases studies on BGs (Freeman et al.
Analysis revealed not only that different performance measures are relevant within each of the phases of BG development, but also that the unique internationalisation strategies (early and rapid) pursued by BGs influence the duration of each phase.