Journal of International Entrepreneurship 1, 277±296, 2003 # 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Manufactured in The Netherlands. International Strategy Formation in Small Canadian High-Technology CompaniesÐ A Case Study Approach MARTINE SPENCE spence@management.uottawa.ca University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Abstract. For some companies, especially in the high technology sector, internationalisation is no longer a matter of choice, but of necessity. This paper explores the strategy development patterns of internationalising small high-technology companies in an environment where windows of opportunity close quickly. Findings from in-depth interviews suggest that emergent strategies within or outside established networks are likely to trigger small high-technology companies' initial internationalisation. Further overseas expansion is constrained by resource availability. This study demonstrates that internationalisation is an iterative process that happens in a holistic way much more than a systematic one. Rather than trying to fit small and medium enterprises' (SMEs') internationalisation patterns into a stage model, managers and policy-makers should recognise the importance of networks. Training and programs could, therefore, help identify strategic networks of importance for the companies and assist them in both contributing and taking advantage of these. Keywords: internationalisation, high-technology small companies, overseas strategy Introduction Small businesses, especially in the particularly dynamic high-technology markets, are seeking entry into international markets much faster and at a much earlier age than previously (Giamartino et al., 1993; Oviatt and McDougall, 1994; Bloodgood et al., 1996). Times have changed; travel is cheaper and faster. The Internet and other technologies provide easy access to customers with increasingly similar behaviours around the world. Furthermore, countries themselves have opened up to international trade and investments. These changes have not only provided SMEs with easier access to global opportunities but also with challenges to adapt and take advantage of these opportunities (Etemad, 1999). Etemad has argued that the main challenges facing these firms were the shrinkage of the technological life cycle leading to the necessity to expand `to the largest possible markets in the shortest possible *Corresponding author. Martine Spence, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier Street, P.O. Box 450, Stn. A, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada. Tel.: (613) 562-5800 ext. 4954; Fax: (613) 562-5164.