Migrants, Language, and Internationalization of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Literature Review

Palgrave handbook of global migration in international business. By AudraMockaitis (Ed.), London: Springer. 2023. ISBN: 978‐3‐031‐38886‐6

“…The strongest parts of this handbook are those that align closely to this mission. For instance, Niskavaara and Piekkari (2023) review five decades of literature to show how migrants' linguistic and cultural competences can facilitate smoother entry and operation in target markets by reducing psychic distance, while Shukla and Cantwell (2023) review how skilled migrants influence cross-border trade, FDI, technological innovation, and knowledge flows. As displayed in Table 1, our assessments diverged with respect to the material we each found most surprising, familiar, and missing.…”

“…The second and last sections both adopt a micro-level perspective on migration, where the former addresses leveraging migrants' language and cultural skills to solve IB issues like new market entry, while the latter showcases migrants' experiences navigating from displacement to establishment in new environments. For instance, Niskavaara and Piekkari (2023) illustrate how migrants' bilingual abilities and cultural insights significantly ease SMEs' entry and establishment in foreign markets by navigating regulatory and cultural complexities. Additionally, Abebe and El-Awad (2023) discuss refugees' entrepreneurial endeavors postdisplacement, such as launching businesses that fill niche market needs within local economies, thereby contributing economically and aiding in their social integration and community building.…”