Market knowledge acquisition and transfer in international SMEs: peculiarities, specifications and linkages to market success
International Marketing Review
ISSN: 0265-1335
Article publication date: 27 December 2021
Issue publication date: 1 June 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to systematically review and evaluate extant literature on knowledge acquisition and transfer in international small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and to identify the requisite types of knowledge acquired and transferred in this context. The research further determines the mechanisms enabling SMEs to process this knowledge, unpacks the benefits of both knowledge acquisition and transfer for international SMEs and links them to the market success.
Design/methodology/approach
The research has conducted a comprehensive systematic review of existing literature on market knowledge acquisition and its transfer, in the context of international SMEs, utilizing peer-reviewed articles published in top tier journals without any custom range of time.
Findings
The search strategy resulted in 37 reviewed academic articles, whose analysis identifies and elucidates on the best practices of knowledge acquisition and transfer in the context of international SMEs; the type of the knowledge acquired and transferred; the form and mechanism of the intersection of these processes; and the benefits gained. The findings, crucially, also identify and illuminate extant research gaps and insufficiencies and develop a comprehensive research agenda for the way forward.
Originality/value
The present study offers a uniquely comprehensive perspective on a topic of diachronic and, currently, rising significance to scholars and practitioners alike. Transcending its descriptive value, though, it further identifies extant knowledge deficiencies, it distils and consolidates critical knowledge and prescribes avenues for research towards the growth and development of international SMEs and born globals.
Keywords
Citation
Siachou, E., Papasolomou, I., Trichina, E. and Thrassou, A. (2022), "Market knowledge acquisition and transfer in international SMEs: peculiarities, specifications and linkages to market success", International Marketing Review, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 529-567. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-02-2021-0095
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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