Internationalization patterns of small and medium‐sized enterprises

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the conceptual frameworks and concepts with which the research on internationalization patterns of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be conducted. Design/methodology/approach -A comprehensive overview of concepts and a conceptual framework to study internationalization patterns of SMEs is offered. Findings -The complexities of existing definitions and methodologies for researching internationalization patterns are highlighted, and a synthesis of the issues is provided. An integrative model of internationalization pathways, and their antecedents and outcomes is presented. Research limitations/implications -It is recommended that future research focuses especially on the time dimension of internationalization patterns. Future research can contribute to the literature by adopting a longitudinal approach with larger samples and more detailed cases to capture the dynamics of internationalization. Practical implications -Practitioners might map their positions, and look for challenges and opportunities with regard to their chosen internationalization pattern. They can also benchmark other firms' pathways and fine-tune their own approach to internationalization. Originality/value -The paper integrates a large body of research in an important research area in international marketing. It also provides guidance on how to conduct future research in the area, and introduces the content of this special issue of the International Marketing Review.

Beyond categorization: New directions for theory development about entrepreneurial internationalization

“…Further, we know from current literature that a variety of internationalization trajectories or paths are followed (e.g., Kuivalainen et al, 2012b). This literature has emphasized that different paths lead to different outcomes.…”

Contextualization of Evolving Patterns in the Internationalization of Small Firms

“…To get a better understanding on the patterns of internationalization, the single perspective and the short periods-focus used in most of the existing research (Kuivalainen et al, 2012) could hardly achieve the second objective in this study alone. Some scholars suggest that in the internationalization study, researchers need to go further to refine the boundary and condition of their theory or propositions (Andersen, 1993) in order to get more insight and be less biased about causal explanations.…”

“…A challenge in understanding the dynamic nature of the internationalization pattern of small firms lies in how to capture changes in the evolution of patterns during critical time periods of the internationalization process. Kuivalainen et al (2012) point out the importance in understanding the longitudinal development of internationalization, and argue that there is a lack of studies on the time dimension of internationalization. For example, mentioned earlier was that due to the short period-focus of BG studies, there are insu cient studies on how changes with time a↵ect continued internationalization.…”

“…INTRODUCTION 2002;Moen and Servais, 2002) and "Born-again Global" (BaG) (Bell et al, 2001). As mentioned earlier, because of a short period-focus in the rapid internationalization study of SMEs, there is still limited knowledge on how the identified patterns change over time (Kuivalainen et al, 2012). Furthermore, there are very few longitudinal studies capturing the changes that occur during the internationalization of a firm (Welch and Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, 2014).…”

“…Yet, results from studies focusing on a short period cannot provide su cient insights on whether there are changes during the unfolding internationalization process of firms and whether the internationalization process is sustained. Therefore, several scholars, such as Jones et al (2011) and Kuivalainen et al (2012), argue that future research should expand from a limited focus on the earlier period of rapid internationalization to cover the evolving pattern afterwards. It is reasonable suggestion, because potential changes in an overall internationalization process can barely be captured and understood by a "snapshot" view of the early period of internationalization.…”