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Foreign market involvement, entry-mode learning potential and SME internationalization outcomes

Said Elbanna (Center for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Excellence, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar)
Linda Hsieh (Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK)
John Child (Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK)
Rose Narooz (Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK)
Svetla Marinova (Business School, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark)
Pushyarag Puthusserry (Kent Business School, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK)
Joanna Karmowska (Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK)
Terence Tsai (Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China)
Yunlu Zhang (School of Intelligent Finance and Business, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Taicang, China)

Management Decision

ISSN: 0025-1747

Article publication date: 16 November 2023

Issue publication date: 22 January 2024

350

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on an organizational learning perspective, this paper examines the effect of levels of foreign market involvement (intensity and geographic spread) on internationalization outcomes recognizing that the moderating influence of entry-mode learning potential is not well documented in the literature on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The sample includes 180 SMEs evenly selected from three industries: biotechnology, software and clothing (60 firms in each industry). The sampled firms employ less than 250 employees and are equally distributed between three developed economies and three emerging economies. All were engaged in foreign business.

Findings

The authors find that there is a direct relationship between levels of foreign market involvement and internationalization outcomes. Entry-mode learning potential moderates the relationship between intensity of foreign market involvement and internationalization outcomes but not the relationship between geographic spread and internationalization outcomes.

Practical implications

This study reveals several new insights that help explain the pathway through which foreign market involvement activities are translated into internationalization outcomes.

Originality/value

The authors conclude that the positive relationship between intensity of foreign market involvement and internationalization outcomes is strengthened when SMEs also use an entry mode with a higher learning potential than exporting only.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust (grants #: SG090831, SG120531), the UAE National Research Foundation (Grants # 101 UAEU-NRF, 3209-31B014), the Birmingham Business School, the China Europe International Business School and the Qatar University and Marubeni Corporation (Grant # (M-QJRC-2020–1). The authors’ thanks are extended to Suzana Rodrigues and Rene Seifert for their earlier contributions to this research project

Citation

Elbanna, S., Hsieh, L., Child, J., Narooz, R., Marinova, S., Puthusserry, P., Karmowska, J., Tsai, T. and Zhang, Y. (2024), "Foreign market involvement, entry-mode learning potential and SME internationalization outcomes", Management Decision, Vol. 62 No. 1, pp. 301-325. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-01-2023-0045

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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