International Digital Competencies Maximizing Lean Internationalization In Healthcare Startups

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to verify whether international digital competencies help startups achieve lean internationalization. We use a qualitative exploratory approach, and one critical case study was developed with Brazilian startup: Varstation. Our results show how the digital international competencies maximize lean internationalization in emerging market startups in the following way: cross-cultural programming skill is a competence that helps startups achieves the low need to access local foreign specific assets; global virtual networking is a competence that helps startups achieves high access and mobilization power of international resources and leverage power of online reputations; cross-border digital monetization adaptability, international business model reconfiguration and global virtual networking are competencies that help startups leverage their power of online reputations; and global virtual networking is a competence that helps startups achieve adoption of local identities in foreign markets, high access and mobilization power of international resources and low need to access local foreign specific assets. Our findings identified five theoretical contributions and two managerial contributions that confirm the conceptual model proposed.