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Internationalization is of high relevance and has been discussed intensively. However, different internationalization paths have been proposed by theoretical models and have been observed in reality. In this study, we examine the internationalization path of 52 German firms over a period of ten years using comprehensive and rich data on all new ventures established by these companies within this period. We find four distinct patterns of internationalization and propose a stage model of internationalization based on these findings. Our results show different challenges for managers depending on the stage of internationalization and render interesting starting points for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of determinants on early internationalization in the context of an emerging economy, i.e. India.

The study is based on an ex post facto exploratory research using primary data collected from a sample of 102 exporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangalore.

The overall results reveal that it is the proactive entrepreneurs and their previous experience that determine the early internationalization of SMEs. Further, competitive constraint was a major obstacle to enter the international market at an early age for late internationalized SMEs.

The policy initiatives should aim to develop the international orientation of the entrepreneurs in the firm as a precursor for the formulation and subsequent implementation of internationalization strategies.

Although studies have been conducted on determinants and early internationalization, these are confined to a few dimensions, and none of the studies have looked into the issues affecting the early internationalization holistically and with respect to SMEs in India.

This study explores the impact of family ownership and management on exploitative and exploratory outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in family businesses in emerging economies, as well as the moderating effects of intra-family successions and founder CEOs.

The authors empirically tested the hypotheses based on the data of Chinese listed manufacturing family enterprises from 2009 to 2018.

Family ownership does not significantly reduce exploitative OFDI but significantly increases exploratory OFDI. When family offspring have succession intentions, these relationships are strengthened. Additionally, family management is negatively associated with exploitative OFDI and positively associated with exploratory OFDI. Founder CEOs have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between family management and exploitative and exploratory OFDI.

This study is the first attempt to introduce exploitative and exploratory OFDI into the internationalization of family enterprises. The research goes beyond internationalization as a single concept and provides new evidence to solve the controversy about how family involvement affects family firms’ internationalization. On the other hand, the authors respond to the call to understand the impact of family heterogeneity on internationalization by systematically examining the influence of four important family heterogeneity characteristics on family firms’ OFDI choice.

Although internationalisation has become a key strategic element of universities across the world, there is little empirical evidence suggesting the nature and extent of integration of internationalisation into the strategic mission of individual institutions. Little is also known about challenges faced by institutions in their quest to integrate internationalisation into their broad strategic choices. This paper aims to address these issues.

An exploratory study is conducted in six universities in the UK selected from the Russell pre‐1992 group, the post‐1994 group and former colleges of higher education (HE). The study has three distinct but interrelated aims: how internationalisation is conceptualised in the study institutions; the available evidence for its structural integration into the university services and understanding the perceived challenges institutions face in the quest to integrate the idea as a broad strategic element of those institutions.

There exist a range of distinct barriers working against the full integration of the concept into the institutional cultures. These include: conceptual and structural deficiencies in the organisation of institutional internationalisation; over emphasis on human exchange initiatives over cultural integration efforts and increasing undercurrents of feelings among staff and students of local neglect at the expense of global attention.

The paper creates a sound basis for a more broad‐based study across the HE sector. Specifically, the paper suggests that the increasing cultural diversity in UK HE brought about in part by internationalisation and also by general human migration occasions new thinking and practices in organisational and management terms to address the needs of the “mosaic or cultural melting pot” phenomena characterising the increasingly multicultural HE learning environments.

The aim of this paper is to provide new evidence on the ability of family small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop ambidextrous innovations and their influence on the internationalization processes, showing how this relationship varies due to family involvement.

The analysis is based on a sample of 186 Spanish family SMEs. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results indicate that family SMEs' innovation activities are a stimulus for their internationalization process, and show the importance of family involvement in this relationship. Specifically, the findings suggest that family-specific characteristics such as the generation in charge of the business and the level of family involvement in the top management team (TMT) shape the relationship between innovation and internationalization.

Family SMEs need to focus on exploratory and exploitative innovations to obtain a competitive advantage in foreign markets, and thus, increase their internationalization level. Furthermore, the study contributes to a better understanding of the consequences of family involvement, increasing our knowledge of family firms' idiosyncratic behaviors in strategic activities. The study suggests that in order to improve the effect of innovation on internationalization, family owners should consider involving new generations and non-family managers within the decision-making structures.

To date, research on innovation-internationalization link in family SMEs has been fragmented and has not obtained conclusive results. This study provides new evidence on the relationship between these two important strategies. Furthermore, it contributes to the understanding of the influence of the family in shaping strategic decisions.

There is limited empirical research on the internationalization processes, strategies and operations of Asian multinational enterprises (MNEs) from countries at different levels of development. This paper examines and analyzes the internationalization strategies and characteristics of Asian MNEs within the investment development path (IDP) perspective.

Primary data are drawn from matched case studies of emerging MNEs from Taiwan (a newly industrializing country) and Malaysia (a fast developing country) in the textile and electronics industries.

The internationalization strategies of our Taiwanese and Malaysian case firms were founded on cost‐based competencies and other location‐based advantages, brought together by an extensive web of ethnic networks. Differences between our Taiwanese and Malaysian case firms were found and discussed. In general, the Taiwanese firms were more internationalized (at stage 3 of IDP) than the Malaysian firms (stage 2). They had more developed and elaborate production networks and greater own design manufacturing/own brand manufacturing participation than the Malaysian firms.

The research did not capture the operational strategies at the level of the subsidiary or JV. The findings were exploratory and formed the basis for research propositions presented. As indicated there existed a wide empirical research gap on Asian as well as Taiwanese and Malaysian MNEs. These need to be filled to provide further evidence and answers to the issues raised in the paper. Other potential areas of research could include longitudinal studies of Asian MNEs to examine whether they will resemble Western MNEs as they evolve, the impact of ethnic networks on the performance of Asian MNEs of both Chinese and non‐Chinese origins, and the role of the state in internationalization strategies.

Few studies have been done on emerging market multinationals and their internationalisation strategies.

Extant research has integrated ambidexterity perspective into international business studies and calls for emerging market multinational enterprises (EM MNEs) to implement exploration and exploitation activities simultaneously in foreign markets. However, less attention has been paid to empirically test whether and how international ambidexterity can benefit the innovation performance of EM MNEs. Based on the data of international manufacturing firms in China, this paper explores the relationship between international ambidexterity and innovation performance and investigates four contingency factors of top management team (TMT): two external resource accumulation elements (i.e. TMT business ties and TMT political ties) and two internal resource integration elements (i.e. TMT contingency rewards and TMT social integration).

The author conducts multiple hierarchical linear regression analysis to test the hypothesis by collecting survey data from 227 MNEs from several Economic Development Zones located in Zhejiang province in China.

The results show that international ambidexterity is positively related to innovation performance, and the international ambidexterity–innovation performance relationship is amplified when TMTs build strong ties with external business partners and political departments, when EM MNEs link top managers' income to team collective performance and create a highly social integrated TMT.

The results contributes to answer the question that how well EM MNEs will succeed and enrich the context specificity of international ambidexterity. The findings also help us better understand the inconsistent empirical findings in organizational ambidexterity by uncovering the contingency role of several TMT attributes.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the antecedents of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) internationalization for a small set of Mexican ICT entrepreneurial firms, connected with subsectoral positions in a smile-shaped curve. Such antecedents constitute exploratory patterns related to simplified internationalization characteristics in terms of market choice, founder background and aspatial affiliations, providing a complementary technique to identify elements that shape SME internationalization in Latin America.

A value-added “smiling” curve is sketched according to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry classification, mapping a non-probabilistic purposive sample of Mexican SMEs. The csQCA has been applied to the sample based on secondary data. Mexico’s ICT export behavior is also analyzed.

Internationalized SMEs in the sample tend to group in patterns that approach higher value-added positions in the “smiling” curve, exemplifying a type of non-geographic clustering. Particular groups seem to precede market selection (North America vs Latin America). The founder’s background does not determine internationalization choices. The sample included counterexamples (new entrants, limited cases involving research and development activities), which when analyzed suggest relevant literature validations.

This research contextualizes sectoral SME internationalization from a Latin American perspective, identifying simple patterns around particular ICT subsectors. It focuses on a type of international entrepreneurship that becomes exceptional in developing regions: technology-oriented. csQCA is presented as a preliminary (exploratory) technique to draw alternative theoretical frameworks for SME internationalization, specifically, market selection and aspatial cluster behavior around value-added chains, leading to new theoretical perspectives in SME internationalization.

Esta investigación persigue un entendimiento de los antecedentes en la internacionalización de la PyME para un pequeño conjunto de negocios mexicanos de TIC emprendedores, en conexión con posiciones subsectoriales en una curva con forma de sonrisa. Dichos antecedentes constituyen patrones exploratorios relacionados con características de internacionalización simplificadas, en función de la selección del mercado, los antecedentes del fundador, y las afiliaciones no espaciales, ofreciendo una técnica complementaria para la identificación de elementos que moldean la internacionalización de la PyME en América Latina.

Una curva de valor añadido en forma de “sonrisa” es delineada de acuerdo con la clasificación industrial SCIAN, mapeando una muestra deliberada no probabilística de PyMEs mexicanas. csQCA ha sido aplicado a la muestra con base en datos secundarios. El comportamiento exportador de México en TIC es analizado también.

Las PyMEs internacionalizadas en la muestra tienden a agruparse en patrones que se aproximan a las posiciones de mayor valor añadido dentro de la curva de la “sonrisa,” ejemplificando un tipo de conglomerado no geográfico. Ciertos agrupamientos parecen prevalecer respecto a la selección del mercado (América del norte vs. Latinoamérica). Los antecedentes del fundador no determinan las opciones de internacionalización. La muestra incluyó contraejemplos (nuevos participantes, casos limitados que involucran actividades de I+D), los cuales sugieren validaciones relevantes de la literatura una vez analizados.

Esta investigación contextualiza la internacionalización sectorial de la PyME desde una perspectiva latinoamericana, identificando patrones simples alrededor de subsectores particulares de TIC. Se enfoca en un tipo de emprendimiento internacional que llega a ser excepcional en regiones en desarrollo: orientado a la tecnología. csQCA se presenta como una técnica preliminar (exploratoria) para delinear marcos teóricos alternativos para la internacionalización de la PyME, específicamente, selección del mercado y comportamiento de conglomerados no espaciales alrededor de cadenas de valor añadido, llevando a nuevas perspectivas teóricas en la internacionalización de la PyME.

The purpose of this study is to organize and assess knowledge on the capabilities pertinent to the early internationalization of born globals (BGs) and international new ventures (INVs).

A systematic approach is used to search, code, organize and synthesize 155 peer-reviewed journal articles on capabilities and early internationalization.

The study delimits eight operational and five dynamic capabilities. The synthesis links capabilities to three antecedents (i.e. firm specific factors, managerial socio cognitive attributes and market factors) and three outcomes (i.e. precocity, survival and performance). While 7 of the 12 linkages identified are well-established, relationships involving market factors, survival and dynamic capabilities are sparsely researched.

The authors know more about the effects of firm specific factors and managerial socio cognitive attributes on operational and dynamic capabilities than we do the influence of market factors on either group of capabilities. Likewise, the authors know more about the influence of operational and dynamic capabilities on performance than we do their impact on precocity or survival.

As the pandemic has shown, businesses with adaptable capabilities (e.g. shifting from a brick and mortar to an online/omnichannel approach or micro-breweries competent to switch from manufacturing beer to hand sanitizer) have increased their chance of survival while helping society cope.

This to the authors’ knowledge is the first study to provide a comprehensive review of literature on the nebulous concept of capabilities, in the context of the burgeoning research stream on early internationalization.

Owing to its specificities, the family small and medium enterprise (SME) shows a particular behavior as for the creation, development, sharing, protection and transmission of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to study the specificities of the processes of knowledge creation and development in family firms.

Through a questionnaire, hypotheses of the model were tested. The study is based on 118 firms belonging to various industries. After evaluating the reliability and validity of the items through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the model was tested through structural equation modeling (LISREL).

The model retained induces the following conclusions. Internationalization knowledge positively influences internationalization degree of the firm. The conservatism of family SME does not directly influence the level of internationalization knowledge. The influence of conservatism on internationalization knowledge is exerted only through the decisional dimension of independence orientation. The independence orientation of family SME, then with its two dimensions simultaneously (decisional and resource independence), does not significantly influence internationalization knowledge. Contrary to decisional independence which influences indirectly the degree of internationalization (through the intermediation of internationalization knowledge), resource independence influences directly the dependant variable. The mediation of internationalization knowledge is thus not totally proven. Social networking positively influences the amount of internationalization knowledge.

A major weakness is the absence of a synchronic approach as the dependent and independent variables are measured at the same moment. A more longitudinal approach would be valuable to analyze the causal relationships between the independent variables and internationalization knowledge and internationalization degree. A second limitation is that the characteristics of the sample may limit the generalizability of the results.

To the author's knowledge, the paper is the first of its kind to examine the knowledge‐based processes in family businesses.