The Financial Characteristics of Born Global Firms in Korea

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the financial characteristics of Korean born global firms (BGs). BGs, by definition, are actively seeking overseas markets from the early stages of their inception. Previous studies have tried to identify the determinants of BGs' rapid internationalization and superior performance. However, most of the studies have relied on either qualitative case- or survey-based analyses with a relatively limited number of observations. From a different perspective, this study is trying to provide a more objective evidence by studying the differences of financial characteristics between BGs and non BGs. The results of this paper reveal that KOSDAQ listed manufacturing BGs, compared to their NBGs counterparts, are more efficiently utilizing their assets and equities, and have more growth potential. However, BGs tend to be less profitable and less financially stable.