Micro-foundations of small business internationalization: introduction to the Special Section

Vanderstraeten, Johanna; Loots, Ellen; Hamelin, Anaïs; Witteloostuijn, A. van

doi:10.1108/ccsm-04-2020-0100

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 116 publications

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“…Most studies in this cluster integrate approaches to the cognitive, personal values and motivational aspects of entrepreneurs on IE (Al-Aali and Teece, 2014;Ammeer et al, 2021;Autio et al, 2011;Bolzani and Der Foo, 2018;Chandra et al, 2015;Li et al, 2021;Santos-Alvarez and Garc ıa-Merino, 2018;Vrontis et al, 2021;Zahra et al, 2005). The importance of the entrepreneur in business internationalisation was portrayed more specifically in the study of Vanderstraeten et al (2020). Other themes involve previous international experience of international entrepreneurs (Forcadell and Ubeda, 2020;Jones and Casullo, 2013), the role of education (De Mattos and Salciuviene, 2019;Jafari-Sadeghi et al, 2018;Sułkowski and Patora-Wysocka, 2020), knowledge (Fernhaber et al, 2009;Korhonen and Lepp€ aaho, 2019), human and entrepreneurial capital (Jiao and Robinson, 2011;Salman, 2016;Wach, 2017) and multicultural issues (Dimitratos et al, 2016a;Selmer et al, 2018;Szymanski et al, 2021).…”

Section: Ccsm 293mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A systematic international entrepreneurship review and future research agenda

Nave

Ferreira

2022

CCSM

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PurposeInternational entrepreneurship (IE) has received a considerable amount of attention in the recent decades as a result of globalization enabling access to new international markets and business opportunities. Despite the growing increase in academic publications, IE still faces certain inconsistencies, with doubts remaining as regards its boundaries and the thematic groups making up the field. The purpose of this article is to systematically analyse the IE, mapping the intellectual territory and the evolution of the field.Design/methodology/approach Indexed to Web of Science( WoS) database until 2021, from 52 journals, 130 articles were selected, applying content analyses techniques to identify the main research lines.FindingsThe results reveal that IE presents four conceptual themes/clusters: (1) international business networks and opportunities; (2) institutional environments; (3) the characteristics and motivations of entrepreneurs; and (4) internationalisation drivers and processes. Extant analysis show that IE has progressed immensely, concentrating a good diversity of subtopics and research trends. An integrative framework bringing together 27 years of publications and 67 future research lines, detailed by cluster, were also presented in this study to improve understanding and guide future studies.Originality/valueThis review makes a broad contribution to the IE literature, assisting in consolidating the academic field, expanding and complementing the results of previous theoretical–conceptual studies. We reflect and individually discuss the state of the art of the four streams that characterize IE to identify key themes, points of convergence and advance new subfields.

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Section: Ccsm 293mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, 2005). The importance of the entrepreneur in business internationalisation was portrayed more specifically in the study of Vanderstraeten et al. (2020).…”

Section: Framework and Future Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic international entrepreneurship review and future research agenda

Nave

Ferreira

2022

CCSM

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“…In general, there is a need for a greater understanding of the microfoundations of small business performance (Vanderstraeten et al , 2020; Coff and Kryscynski, 2011). This study's objective is to look closer into what determines different managerial growth aspirations and what consequences they have on the organizational level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth aspirations in SMEs: managerial determinants and organizational outcomes

Eide

Moen

Madsen

et al. 2021

JSBED

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PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to increase the scholarly understanding of managerial growth aspirations in small firms. Research has shown that managers' aspirations are important to ensure firms' growth, but researchers know less of where their aspirations come from and how variation in these aspirations shapes organizational outcomes. By focusing on two growth strategies of particular importance for small firms – innovation and internationalization – the authors map out how managers' ambitious aspirations may create negative organizational effects and also how they may counteract such effects.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) on a sample of 249 Norwegian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that managerial experience is associated with high aspirations as well as high change effectiveness on the managerial team. The authors find that ambitious growth aspirations are associated with exploration in the form of radical innovation but also lead to reduced employee well-being. Managers' level of perceived change effectiveness, on the other hand, is positively associated with radical innovation and also raises employee well-being.Research limitations/implicationsThis study highlights the positive and negative effects of managerial aspirations on different organizational outcomes. Further, it shows that managerial teams working effectively together in the face of change is important for the well-being of employees. Results confirm the positive relationship between aspirations for growth and applied growth strategies in organizations. The data sample is, however, extracted from one country only, and the authors cannot exclude the possibility that findings will be different elsewhere.Practical implicationsTo ensure successful growth, managers should combine ambitious aspirations with attention to the top management team's (TMT) experience levels and change effectiveness. Assessment of possible needs for development and adjustments could ensure growth processes with limited negative effects for employee well-being.Originality/valueBy distinguishing between growth through international sales (exploitation) and growth through a more change-intensive strategy of radical innovation (exploration), the authors investigate how variations in managerial aspirations and perceptions influence organizational growth processes. This paper paints a unique picture of how managers can be both the cause and cure of employee well-being in change-demanding situations.

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“…A growing body of knowledge emphasizes that entrepreneurial ambitions and characteristics are an important antecedent of firm internationalization (e.g. the SI of Vanderstraeten et al, 2020). Especially in small firms, where key decision-makers directly shape the agenda, their motivations and orientation are of central importance (Peschken et al, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of this fundamental difference and based on institutional theory (North, 1990;Scott, 2013), Wu and Deng (2020) argue to take institutional factors into account that motivate SMEs differently in their internationalization. To fully understand these motives, it is thus essential to jointly examine all the different levels of analysis which interact (Vanderstraeten et al, 2020): the firm, the entrepreneur and the role China's institutional environment is playing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chinese SMEs in Germany: an exploratory study on OFDI motives and the role of China’s institutional environment

Hänle

Weil

Cambré

2021

MBR

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Purpose This paper aims to use the institutional perspective to jointly explore the underlying motives that drive Chinese private small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in the developed economy of Germany and the role China’s institutional environment is playing in this context. Design/methodology/approach Given the lack of recent in-depth studies, the authors use multiple case study method to present rich insights from elite interviews with executives belonging to seven Chinese SMEs and industry experts, as well as the study of firm documents, social media and the latest governmental policies. Findings The results indicate not only market-, resource- and strategic asset-seeking motives, but contrary to the literature, also efficiency-seeking goals. Further driving factors are the integration in global value chains and high degrees of entrepreneurial orientation. The second major finding is that China’s institutional environment induces widely divergent effects. Its ministries established new outward foreign direct investments (OFDI) support measures that are beneficial for some SMEs’ post-entry operations. However, some firms are not aware of any support measures or suffer from discrimination that hinders innovation and from which they try to escape by investing abroad. Originality/value This paper considers different levels of analysis (firm, entrepreneur, institutional environment) to investigate Chinese SMEs’ motives in Europe’s largest market. By examining why and how these firms use OFDI to a developed economy, the authors address an essential question for China’s economy that is of primary political and academic concern (“How can China get that improved innovation that often seeds entrepreneurial growth?”). In addition, the study contributes to the growing discussion of institutional escapism in emerging markets by revealing five institutional hardships Chinese SMEs are facing and how this relates to their internationalization.

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Micro-foundations of small business internationalization: introduction to the Special Section

Cited by 12 publications

References 116 publications

A systematic international entrepreneurship review and future research agenda

A systematic international entrepreneurship review and future research agenda

Growth aspirations in SMEs: managerial determinants and organizational outcomes

Chinese SMEs in Germany: an exploratory study on OFDI motives and the role of China’s institutional environment

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