Triple-loop springboarding and simulacrum enterprises: Financialization and new forms of emerging economy educational international businesses

This paper examines financialization as a motivation for emerging economy non-financial companies to access, localize, and financialize firm-specific assets (FSAs) obtained from developed market economy enterprises (DMEs) through a triple-loop springboarding process. An abductive methodology was employed, combining both deductive and inductive approaches, and involving five intensive case studies derived from 98 semi-structured interviews focused on the internationalization of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) in the educational sector. This study identified a triple-loop springboarding process underpinning the internationalization of EMNEs. The first loop involves a financialization motivation, with inward internationalization to form an investment vehicle; the second centers on localization to establish a simulacrum in an emerging economy setting; and the third encompasses outward internationalization, incorporating localization and the creation of additional simulacra in both emerging and developed economy locations. Our findings make an important contribution to the IB literature by highlighting the importance of localization within springboarding theory, as well as the intersections between financialization and localization processes with springboarding—processes notably absent in the existing springboard literature. • Financialization as a motivation underpins triple-loop springboarding. • First-loop: EMNEs form translocal ties with English schools to borrow firm-specific assets (FSAs) and establish themselves. • Second-loop: Borrowed FSAs are localized, leading EMNEs to create simulacrum schools. • Third-loop: EMNEs expand internationally by replicating simulacrum schools in other contexts.