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Digital technologies over time are becoming increasingly pervasive and relatively affordable, finding a large diffusion in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) also for internationalization purposes. However, less is known about the specific mechanisms by which this can be achieved. Specifically, we focus on how SMEs can face the international environment, leveraging digital technologies and thanks to their intellectual capital (IC).

We analyze the relationship between digital technologies and the internationalization of SMEs, exploring the mediating role of IC in its three dimensions: human, relational and innovation capital, and assessing the possible moderating effects posed by international institutional conditions, specifically the Sino-US trade frictions. The relationships are tested using a sample of companies listed on China’s A-share Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) from 2010 to 2021.

Digital technologies help to internationalize SMEs. However, this positive relationship is affected (mediated) by the presence of an already consolidated IC. In addition, the institutional conditions of the international market, such as the Sino-US trade friction, moderate the components of IC differently. Specifically, the overall mediating effect of human and relational capital is boosted, while this does not happen for innovation capital.

First, this study contributes to the literature on organizational resilience, especially digital resilience, confirming its validity in the context of internationalization and, in particular, those processes adopted by SMEs. Second, we clarify the mechanisms through which digital technologies exert their impact on the process of internationalization and in particular the prominent necessity of having IC. Third, our conclusions enrich the understanding of how IC components react to turbulence in international markets.

This chapter conceptually addresses outward internationalisation of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from the emerging markets (EMs) by focussing on the role of prior contract manufacturing relationships with a developed market multinational enterprise (DMNE). The internationalisation of SMEs originating from EMs is a rather under-researched area and the role of prior contract manufacturing experience specifically has not been addressed in prior studies. Based on a literature review, the authors identified four capabilities developed by EM SMEs during their contract manufacturing relationships with DMNE(s) that potentially help in later outward internationalisation. The authors incorporate some insights from dynamic capabilities theory, and develop propositions addressing the role of relational capital, human capital, manufacturing productivity capabilities and product innovation capabilities in this specific context. Despite being conceptual in nature, this chapter is one of the first to explicitly highlight the role of these specific capabilities developed during contract manufacturing relationship for outward internationalisation, setting bases for future studies to further empirically investigate them in different contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative picture of the state of the art of the literature on digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as an enabler for their internationalisation process and as a comprehensive view of the specific domains impacted by digital technologies as well as their repercussions on the international outreach.

A systematic review which leverages a descriptive analysis of extant literature and an axial coding technique has been conducted to shed light on the current knowledge and to identify primary research areas and future research lines.

The research indicates that digitalisation impacts the internationalisation of SMEs in three specific domains: (1) internationalisation through the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) technologies and e-commerce platforms; (2) international expansion through the digitalisation of value chain activities and (3) international outreach through knowledge acquisition on digital platforms.

The value of this study is threefold. First, the authors attempt to systematically review the literature on SMEs digitalisation and internationalisation and provide a holistic perspective on the intertwining of these two research streams. Second, the authors propose a novel conceptualisation on the dimensions of SMEs digitalisation as enablers to internationalisation. Third, the authors put forward promising future lines of research.

1. Digitalisation represents a pivotal strategy that allows companies to build new strategic capabilities and is a propeller for SMEs internationalisation.

2. Through e-commerce, SMEs could compete at the same level of multinational companies but enduring lower costs of expansion.

3. Digital platforms allow SMEs to enhance the learning processes about international markets through an immediate access to relevant information.

4. Digital entrepreneurship has enabled SMEs to develop new configurations of value chain activities, evolving their business model or reaching new markets.

5. SMEs are changing the “business as usual” paradigm offering digital tools to build modular architectures that are scalable and agile in their evolution ability.

Digitalisation represents a pivotal strategy that allows companies to build new strategic capabilities and is a propeller for SMEs internationalisation.

Through e-commerce, SMEs could compete at the same level of multinational companies but enduring lower costs of expansion.

Digital platforms allow SMEs to enhance the learning processes about international markets through an immediate access to relevant information.

Digital entrepreneurship has enabled SMEs to develop new configurations of value chain activities, evolving their business model or reaching new markets.

SMEs are changing the “business as usual” paradigm offering digital tools to build modular architectures that are scalable and agile in their evolution ability.

This paper probes the factors which influence (i) the degree of internationalization and (ii) the subsequent economic performance, achieved by SMEs in India. These two objectives have been examined in the context of firm level push/pull factors, barriers/challenges, firm resources, and strategy.

This study is based on empirical data gathered through a semi-structured questionnaire from 84 exporting SMEs in the (most internationalized) engineering industry of Bangalore in India during January 2012 to February 2013. The two key research questions have been analyzed using stepwise multiple regression models. The degree of internationalization is defined as the percentage of foreign sales in total sales turn over, as of 2010/2011, and economic performance is represented by (i) the value of sales turnover as of 2010/2011, and (ii) growth of sales turnover from inception till 2010/2011, alternatively. Firm level variables (age of firms, firm size, nature of firm organization), entrepreneurial characteristics (age of the founder and education), time taken to enter the export market for the first time, mode of entry, degree of initial internationalization, years of experience in the international market, whether operated in the international market continuously or not, number of markets currently exported, and number of learnings made are used as the possible explanatory factors for the first objective. In addition, current degree of internationalization is used as the possible explanatory factor for the current level of economic performance whereas initial degree of internationalization for the growth of sales turnover.

It is firm age, size and experience, and education of the CEO which influenced the degree of internationalization of SMEs. In addition, continuous operation in the international market after an early entry, leading to more learnings positively influenced the degree of internationalization. Further, those who adopted the MNC route as the mode of entry achieved a higher degree. However, what is more significant is the degree of initial internationalization achieved by the SMEs which had strongly influenced its current degree of internationalization. All these bring out that (i) firm level resources & competence and (ii) firm level strategy, together significantly contributed to the degree of internationalization achieved by the SMEs in an emerging economy like India. However, the degree of internationalization had a negative influence on the current sales turnover achieved. Whereas those SMEs, older in age, organized as private limited companies and led by more qualified CEOs, which catered to more number of countries could achieve a higher sales turnover. But degree of internationalization did not have any influence on firm growth. Only younger and smaller firms grew faster than older and larger firms, irrespective of the degree of internationalization.

The above results bring out that to achieve a larger firm size, entering the international market need not be the only route, in the current era of globalization. It is possible to achieve a higher economic performance even with a domestic market focus, especially when the domestic market is registering a higher growth compared to the international market.

The degree of internationalization and its impact on the economic performance of SMEs have been hardly probed adequately based on empirical data in the context of emerging economies. This study fills this void. It reveals that in the era of globalization where domestic firms might have to face competition though not as much as those which operate in the international market, a larger firm size can be achieved with larger focus on the domestic market and with limited focus on the international market.

This chapter contributes to the ongoing debate about how digitalisation affects the internationalisation of small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs). By applying the Uppsala Internationalisation Process model, this chapter examines the impact of e-commerce on the internationalisation of SMEs. The study uses a unique dataset, which includes 14,513 SMEs across several sectors in 34 countries. The results show that firms using the Internet as a means to provide information about the firm exhibit a higher degree of internationalisation, while using the Internet to facilitate transactions was found to have a positive impact on the ratio of foreign sales to the total sales; however, these foreign sales are likely to be concentrated in less regions/markets. Furthermore, perceived export barriers were found to be a significant moderator of the effects of e-commerce usage on international intensity and international diversification. This suggests that e-commerce does not automatically facilitate the internationalisation of SMEs.

The study this chapter reports focuses on how network theory contributes to the understanding of the internationalization process of SMEs and measures the effect of network capability on performance in international trade and has three research objectives.

The first objective of the study relates to providing new insights into the international market development activities through the application of a network perspective. The chapter reviews the international business literature to ascertain the development of thought, the research gaps, and the shortcomings. This review shows that the network perspective is a useful and popular theoretical domain that researchers can use to understand international activities, particularly of small, high technology, resource-constrained firms.

The second research objective is to gain a deeper understanding of network capability. This chapter presents a model for the impact of network capability on international performance by building on the emerging literature on the dynamic capabilities view of the firm. The model conceptualizes network capability in terms of network characteristics, network operation, and network resources. Network characteristics comprise strong and weak ties (operationalized as foreign-market entry modes), relational capability, and the level of trust between partners. Network operation focuses on network initiation, network coordination, and network learning capabilities. Network resources comprise network human-capital resources, synergy-sensitive resources (resource combinations within the network), and information sharing within the network.

The third research objective is to determine the impact of networking capability on the international performance of SMEs. The study analyzes 11 hypotheses through structural equations modeling using LISREL. The hypotheses relate to strong and weak ties, the relative strength of strong ties over weak ties, and each of the eight remaining constructs of networking capability in the study. The research conducts a cross-sectional study by using a sample of SMEs drawn from the telecommunications industry in Ireland.

The study supports the hypothesis that strong ties are more influential on international performance than weak ties. Similarly, network coordination and human-capital resources have a positive and significant association with international performance. Strong ties, weak ties, trust, network initiation, synergy-sensitive resources, relational capability, network learning, and information sharing do not have a significant association with international performance. The results of this study are strong (R2=0.63 for performance as the outcome) and provide a number of interesting insights into the relations between collaboration or networking capability and performance.

This study provides managers and policy makers with an improved understanding of the contingent effects of networks to highlight situations where networks might have limited, zero, or even negative effects on business outcomes. The study cautions against the tendency to interpret networks as universally beneficial to business development and performance outcomes.

This paper deals with the international expansion of manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the opening of retail outlets in foreign countries. The paper develops and discusses five research questions.

The paper discusses emerging data from the analysis of a database set up in recent years. In particular, it deals with 1,419 retail operations regarding 246 Italian fashion brands in 77 foreign markets during the period from 2005 and 2010.

The paper points out that retail operations are largely used by Italian fashion SMEs to internationalize. This form of entry in foreign markets is used to develop in both mature and emerging markets and it seems related to the brand potential of Italian fashion SMEs abroad.

The paper is limited to the case of Italian fashion brands and to the period 2005–2010.

The paper considers an unexplored area of the internationalization theory of SMEs, that of the development abroad through retail store openings. The paper offers insights on the extent to what this strategy is used by Italian fashion brands.

The authors of this chapter investigate internationalisation strategies of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in China. We highlight the specific challenges that Chinese SMEs encounter when selecting international country markets in terms of distance and entry speed. The authors adopt an ambidexterity perspective that differs from traditional explanations of internationalisation behaviour by highlighting the need to balance seemingly disparate options for international expansion. Three cases provide an illustration of how Chinese companies combine distant with proximate market entries and slow with accelerated entry speed. The authors highlight how these strategies can drive and enhance international aspirations of Chinese SMEs.

Pressure on business to direct their activities responsibly has been increased during the last years to extent their suitability performance in all economic, social and environmental dimensions. This has motivated businesses and researchers to identify ways to implement sustainable and resilient operations. In the era of economic globalisation, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are recognised as an engine of sustainable economic development in both the developed and developing world. Their competitiveness drives the economy, both nationally and internationally. SMEs have faced challenges in developing, internationalisation and achieving competitive advantage. Purpose of current study is to identify and analyse the sustainability and resiliency (SR) barriers to SME internationalisation and prioritise the practices to overcome the negative influence of barriers. In this regard, first, barriers and innovative practices have been identified through the literature review. Second, the essential barriers will be selected through reduction steps by the intuitionistic fuzzy Delphi (IF-Delphi) method. After computing the weight of barriers through the IF-DEMATEL method, the practices were prioritised using four multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) methods in an IF environment. Finally, the scores were aggregated by correlation coefficient and standard deviation (CCSD) technique. Results present that ‘Lack of economical resources to global exports’ and ‘Complications in acclimatizing export product design’ are the top priority barriers and ‘Knowledge of global market opportunities’ and ‘Networking with business incubator institutions’ have been recognised as the essential SMEs internationalisation practices. This study contributes to creating a more focussed approach towards the growth of SMEs. The study results would be helpful for industry, policymakers and academia.

This study aims to obtain insights based on empirical evidence that identify the key drivers and obstacles that lead companies to (re)/enter markets and distinguish the different paths SMEs take. This also provides deeper insights into internationalisation, success, failure and the potential for the re-internationalisation of the SMEs.

The authors used a qualitative research methodology based on six case studies and with recourse to semi-structured interviews with the senior managers of exporting SMEs.

The results report that SMEs with major investments deployed in their internationalisation processes, through recourse to high levels of bank financing, in association with the COVID-19 pandemic period, were not able to successfully overcome the process of internationalisation and culminating in their own bankruptcies.

This study shows how, despite such failures, the attractiveness and reputation of the brand, supported by the strategic vision and perseverance of new investors (entrepreneurs), enabled the rebirth of the brands and opening the door to their re-entering international markets.

Este estudio pretende obtener perspectivas basadas en pruebas empíricas que identifiquen los motores y obstáculos clave que llevan a las empresas a (re)/entrar en los mercados y distinguir los distintos caminos que siguen las PYME. Asimismo, se profundiza en la internacionalización, el éxito, el fracaso y el potencial de reinternacionalización de las PYME.

Los autores utilizaron una metodología de investigación cualitativa basada en seis estudios de casos y con recurso a entrevistas semiestructuradas con altos directivos de PYME exportadoras.

Los resultados informan de que PYMEs con grandes inversiones desplegadas en sus procesos de internacionalización, a través del recurso a altos niveles de financiación bancaria, en asociación con el periodo de pandemia COVID-19, no fueron capaces de superar con éxito el proceso de internacionalización y culminaron en sus propias quiebras.

Este estudio muestra cómo, a pesar de tales fracasos, el atractivo y la reputación de la marca, apoyados por la visión estratégica y la perseverancia de los nuevos inversores (empresarios), permitieron el renacimiento de las marcas y abrieron la puerta a su reentrada en los mercados internacionales.

Este estudo procura obter insights com base em evidências empíricas que identifiquem os principais drivers e obstáculos que levam as empresas a (re)/entrar nos mercados e distinguir os diferentes caminhos percorridos pelas PME . Isso também fornece insights mais profundos sobre internacionalização, sucesso, fracasso e o potencial para a re-internacionalização das PMEs.

Os autores utilizaram uma metodologia de investigação qualitativa baseada em seis estudos de caso e com recurso a entrevistas semiestruturadas a quadros superiores de PME exportadoras.

Os resultados dão conta de que as PME com grandes investimentos efetuados nos seus processos de internacionalização, através do recurso a elevados níveis de financiamento bancário, em associação com o período de pandemia COVID-19, não conseguiram ultrapassar com sucesso o processo de internacionalização e culminando na sua própria falências.

Este estudo mostra como, apesar de tais falhas, a atratividade e a reputação da marca, apoiadas na visão estratégica e na perseverança de novos investidores (empreendedores), permitiram o renascimento das marcas e abriram as portas à sua reentrada nos mercados internacionais.