Transformation from interpersonal to interorganizational relationships: Effectual mechanisms in international new venture growth

This research examines the role of effectuation in the development of a network structure characterized by a combination of interpersonal and interorganizational relationships. With reference to five international new ventures (INVs) as cases, we adopt an in-depth research methodology based on meaning-based analysis, focusing on the entrepreneurs' relationship development while internationally expanding their high-technology firms. Our findings highlight the institutionalization of INV–incumbent relationships as a dynamic process in which early effectual engagement is progressively re-enacted and embedded as collaboration deepens. We identify five effectual mechanisms—legitimacy construction, relational sensemaking, institutional translation, purposeful learning, and collaborative orchestration,—through which entrepreneurs actively transform effectual interpersonal ties into organizationally embedded interorganizational collaborations. These mechanisms illustrate how effectual action is translated, stabilized, and relocated from individual entrepreneurs to organizational practices and coordinated interorganizational processes as relationships mature.