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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how market factors (pertaining to institutions, competition and resources) shape the international strategies of an online retailer. Design/methodology/approach A single qualitative case study research design is employed to conduct in-depth analyses of a Swedish internationalising small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the retail business. Findings The findings show that online retailers can use partnerships to tackle industry dynamics and break into foreign markets. This type of “piggy-back internationalisation” can be an effective strategy of handling foreign market dynamics in the entry phase: that is to say, the short term. Reliance upon relationships, however, may paradoxically inhibit retailers’ abilities to stay competitive in the post-entry phase (i.e. the long term) since they become cut-off from the first-hand market learning. Research limitations/implications The authors provide propositions based upon the findings to support further research in the international marketing and international retailing literature. Practical implications The findings enhance the understanding of how electronic commerce affects SME internationalisation. They also generate new insights into the use of possible international expansion strategies for managers in retail SMEs. Originality/value This study introduces a new theoretical perspective to build upon international retail research and contributes to the international retail literature with relevant insights into both advantages and disadvantages of using partnerships to overcome challenges related to international online retailing.

This article aims to contribute toward a better understanding of the opportunity development process that rapidly internationalizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) undergo. Little is known about how SMEs overcome challenges in the process of recognizing and exploiting market opportunities during their rapid expansion abroad. This article presents a longitudinal case study that illustrates how a fi rm's relationships with business, social, and political actors enhance its opportunity development during the internationalization process. The fi ndings highlight that conducting matching activities at different levels helps the fi rm overcome challenges and succeed in developing new opportunities for continued expansion abroad. This study contributes to research on rapidly internationalizing fi rms by broadening the empirical and theoretical understanding of the opportunity development process for smaller fi rms.

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on consumers' online purchasing behavior as an international phenomenon. Specifically, to address consumers' Internet skills, website perceived ease of use, and website trust as antecedents of purchase intent. With a crossnational dataset of 788 consumers from different countries, five hypotheses are tested, and a model is suggested. The findings highlight that consumers' Internet skills and website perceived ease of use positively impact purchase intent. Interestingly, trust in the website does not. To overcome the cases where consumers feel a lack of trust, this study highlights the need for website usability and adapting to consumers' Internet skills. The findings also illustrate that online shopping is a global phenomenon, a finding that was made possible by analyzing a large international dataset. Future studies can benefit from an online international purchasing approach, which takes the internationality of consumers' purchasing into account. KEYWORDS

Purpose – This paper aims to explore longitudinally a life sciences international new venture’s (INV’s) development of foreign market knowledge (FMK) and how this knowledge development relates to the firm’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Design/methodology/approach – The article adopts a longitudinal case study approach to investigate an INV in the life sciences industry. Findings – The findings show that the EO of an INV changes during its internationalisation. A strong EO, often considered to be synonymous with the early expansion of an INV, is not always able to guide the INV in its later developmental stages. In its continued internationalisation, an INV instead needs firm-specific FMK accumulated from a process of learning by doing. The knowledge development of an INV is a time-consuming process that cannot be rushed by grafting new and experienced employees. Research limitations/implications – Future research focusing on larger and broader samples of INVs is recommended to validate this study’s results. Practical implications – Life sciences managers need to develop their own firm-specific FMK by interacting with their foreign business partners. Originality/value – This study contributes further insights into the FMK development processes and EO of INVs in the life sciences industry during their internationalisation. Further understanding is also provided about how the industry-specific features of an INV in the life sciences industry influence internationalisation over time. The study’s theoretical implications are that international entrepreneurship frameworks and internationalisation process theory need to be integrated to understand the longitudinal development of INVs.

The aim of this study is to contribute to the international business field and research on the innovativeness of international SMEs, by addressing the following research question: To what extent and under which circumstances does relationship connectedness affect perceived innovativeness in international SMEs? To answer this question, the authors create a model that examines the mediating effects of two types of foreign business relationship strategies: relationship differentiation and relationship investments. In order to create this model, the authors draw upon behavioural internationalization process theory, network theory and research into SMEs. The findings reveal that relationship investments mediate the effect relationship connectedness has on perceived innovativeness. This study contributes to research about the innovativeness of international SMEs by showing that being connected to resources in the network is not, in itself, a guarantee of becoming or remaining innovative in foreign markets.

Cross-border e-commerce can enable smaller firms to quickly reach many foreign markets. This article examines how effectual market creation affects the international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in cross-border e-commerce. Building upon effectuation theory, we suggest that firms can drive foreign market demand by creating new ways to interact and engage with customers in the digital space. Analysing a sample of 99 Swedish e-commerce SMEs, we find that effectual market creation has a positive effect on their international performance. We also find that this positive effect is enabled by insidership in international markets, illustrated by activities related to international marketing analytics and international networking. Through these findings, we contribute to theory development on the internationalisation of small digital firms.