It is still unclear why some developed economy (DE) global startups decide to internationalize into emerging economies (EEs) where the legal enforcement and intellectual rights protection are weak,rather than into well-established mature economies.To address this gap, this paper explores what strategies a smallBritish original equipment manufacturer (OEM) employed to venture into China at beginning and to increase its commitments later on. Using asingle-case studyanalyzing its10-year growth trajectory, we found that this British OEM exploited innovative keyword marketing to achieve fast growth, and then used upgrading to own brand manufacturing (OBM)as a higher commitment mode in China at a more mature stage of development. However, building own brand coupled with strategic alliance with a Chinese state-owned giant brought high risks and uncertaintiesto the conduct of the OBM strategy.Cross-cultural misunderstanding in communicationbetween two firms became a critical obstacle. Overall, this paperhighlights the key role of entrepreneurs in shaping firms’ international entrepreneurial behavior, revealing evidence about a novel development pattern of a DE global startup OEMcompeting in the world’s largest emerging economy, China. Thus, itprovides new insights into an under-explored area of research at the intersection of the perspectives of international entrepreneurship and strategic management
Keywords: OBM, OEM, global startup, global value chain, international entrepreneurship
