Growth Beyond Borders: How Technological Innovation and Agricultural Competitiveness Propel Agri-venture Internationalisation

Abstract

Amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, global agricultural trade continued to grow, offering favourable business prospects. Nevertheless, despite its significance, the agricultural sector has received relatively scant attention in mainstream entrepreneurship research. This study addresses this gap by investigating the influence of technological innovations and industry competitiveness on international intensity in new agri-business ventures. To assess the impact of these factors, multilevel linear regression analysis was conducted using a multilevel dataset from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s Adult Population Surveys and the World Bank (2014–2019). The results show that technological innovations—both process and product—and national agricultural competitiveness significantly enhance the international reach of new agri-ventures. Additionally, the effect of a firm’s technological innovations on international expansion is more substantial in countries with higher agricultural competitiveness. This suggests that a supportive industry environment amplifies the benefits of technological innovations in the agricultural sector. The study offers insights for firms aiming for global expansion and policymakers promoting entrepreneurship in agriculture while highlighting areas for future research on agricultural entrepreneurship.