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The purpose of this paper is to study the national and international expansion of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Anhui, China. The paper focuses on the interaction of SMEs with the Government, assessed through the development of specific industries as well as ownership and funding by the State, and the origins of the relative weakness of Chinese SMEs' competitive position.

Data were collected from 154 SMEs and analysed using multivariate regressions; the models used the firms' export intensity at the regional, national, and international level as dependent variables. In total seven models were run: the first analysing the industry where SMEs operate, the second and third studying state funding and ownership, and the last four analysing a set of barriers hindering firms' expansion as independent variables.

The results show that: SMEs operating in labour‐intensive industries have better access to international markets; ownership and/or funding by the state do not play an important role in regional, national and international expansion; and there are 11 barriers related to weak management skills and knowledge hindering the expansion of Anhui's SMEs. The findings are then analysed vis‐à‐vis recent works on Chinese firms and conclusions are drawn.

The paper contributes to the increasing body of literature on the expansion of Chinese SMEs by providing an empirical analysis in a region different from the increasingly studied coastal areas.

This study aims to understand whether business and political relations help emerging markets' SMEs to overcome the challenges posed by low institutionalization in their national and international expansion. It focuses on the role that these relations play in determining access to government funding and contracts and to market information and business-related knowledge.

The data were collected from 828 SMEs in Brazil and China. The data analysis was developed in two stages: the first stage was based on multivariate regression analyses using the ratio of sales outside the companies' region of origin divided by total sales as a dependent variable and the survey's answers as independent variables; outward sales were taken at two different levels – national and international – to consider: (1) the different stages in the national and international expansion process, and (2) the fragmented nature of domestic markets in both Brazil and China. The second stage was based on a stepwise multiple regression as the relative importance of the variables was not known beforehand and the objective was to rank them according to the managers' perceptions.

Informal institutions, in particular business and political relations, can help to reduce uncertainty and overcome some disadvantages associated with weak institutionalization. They do this by providing access to trusted distribution channels, improving the familiarity with different institutional environments and strengthening the management of supply chains and commercial strategies to serve markets outside their region. Also, SMEs in emerging markets getting access to private sources of funding, market knowledge and government contracts through business and political relations are in a better position to expand nationally and internationally.

The research shows that the domestic environment, in particular one with low levels of institutionalization, impacts negatively the national and international expansion of SMEs and, more importantly, how firms can use business and political relations to overcome the obstacles posed by this environment. The findings also have implications for theory, practice and policymaking.

The paper aims to critically analyse the relevant literature on the international expansion of China's small- and medium-sized enterprises with the aim of highlighting the main topics analysed by scholars and identifying areas for future research.

The paper reviews the works on the international growth of China's SMEs published in selected peer-reviewed English-language journals vis-à-vis what has been published on Western SMEs. It does this by, first, studying the literature at both firm and industry levels and, second, by analysing the specific characteristics of small business from China along with the particularities of the Chinese business environment.

The paper shows that two main areas are in need of further research: the impact of the Chinese business environment on the international expansion of SMEs, and the need to understand different elements of the process to develop a strong firm-level body of literature.

The paper highlights the need to deepen the understanding of the process leading to SMEs' expansion beyond China's borders to conclude with the identification of areas for future research.

The case seeks to meet the following educational objectives: provide an understanding of the problems and opportunities faced by a company doing business in a rapidly expanding emerging market. Understand how the foreign environment and industry practices impinge on the company’s strategic conduct. Develop the ability to evaluate strategic internationalization decisions in light of considerations related to uncertainty, risk and commitment. Provide for the application of internationalization theories to a real case involving an emerging country company. Discuss new strategies for international market expansion.

This case study is about the strategic change of the Usaflex brand and how it impacted its national and international expansion. Usaflex is a Brazilian footwear company founded in 1998 and acquired in 2016 by a group of partners. The new managers started an accelerated process of national and international expansion. In the domestic market, the company adopted the franchise system and in the international market used licensed stores. In addition, the new management implemented a series of modifications, changing the positioning, design and product variety, as well as the communication strategy. This process took place in a highly negative context, with the domestic market suffering the impact of a strong recession and Brazilian footwear exports losing competitiveness in the international market.

The targeted audience of this case is undergraduate and MBA students of Business Management courses, specifically on International Business courses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business.

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.

This article examines the influence of market opportunity, risk, and distance on the choice of destination country for Mexican franchises.

The research hypotheses are developed under the theoretical approaches of institutional theory, agency theory, and transaction costs theory and were contrasted on the data obtained from 52 Mexican international franchisors operating in 37 countries as of 2016. This study uses linear regression with ordinary minimums using the STATA 13.1 software.

The results reveal that a larger market size, a greater level of economic freedom, and a smaller geographic distance are determining factors in the choice of destination country. No statistical significance was found in the variables GDP per capita, level of democracy and cultural distance.

This research contributes to the theoretical and practical field. On the theoretical side, this study integrates institutional theory, agency theory, and transaction cost theory to evaluate the factors of the destination country that influence the internationalization process of the franchise. Another contribution of this study is to apply theories and models of developed economies to the process of internationalization of franchises in an emerging economy. Additionally, this study is based on a model that considers the distance, opportunities and risks that are considered by Mexican franchisors in the selection of the international markets in which they maintain operations. This study contains important practical implications that can serve as relevant information for decision-making in the franchise sector and its internationalization. This data is valuable for new models of Mexican franchises that decide to start their internationalization process.

There is an increased research interest in the recent phenomenon of Chinese small and medium‐sized businesses (SMEs) going abroad. The paper aims to enrich the literature by proposing a “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum helping Chinese SMEs going abroad. This innovative entrepreneurial curriculum is based on the Soft Landings program originally developed by the National Business Incubation Association. The objective of the curriculum is to provide a platform for students at various levels (undergraduate, graduate, and executive education) and business communities to engage in China‐USA‐Brazil entrepreneurship.

The “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum, consisting of three core elements (resources and networks; five steps process of coaching; cultivating storytellers), is grounded in the theories of input‐process‐output model of strategic entrepreneurship and docility‐based distributed cognition.

A “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum was developed to help the Chinese SMEs to invest in USA and Brazil. The curriculum is designed to take advantage of resources from the participating entities with the impact of enriching our students' educational experience and enabling business communities to engage in global business opportunities. The “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum is a win‐win program for everyone involved.

The curriculum is based on the Soft Landings International Incubator Designation program originally developed by the National Business Incubation Association. Since there is a need for the soft landings companies to go global, there is also a need for students to go global; the “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum is a merge of these two concepts.

The authors have developed a curriculum that links China‐USA‐Brazil entrepreneurs, investors, students and institutions to collaborate in order to help individuals to exploit market opportunities as well as use the process to educate students. This form of entrepreneurship curriculum is a contribution to our understanding about entrepreneurship, especially international entrepreneurship of SMEs.

Appendixes for the case study, teaching notes with figures and suggested chart plan schema.

Students are expected to learn the use of networks for market growth; types of network connections; and ways to achieve international expansion through networks’ relations.

This teaching case describes the internationalization of an emerging country artist, the Brazilian singer Anitta, who seeks to expand her audience in foreign markets, while dealing with maintaining the public in her home country.

Recommended to International Business disciplines in specialization courses.

CSS 5: International Business.

Whilst substantial evidence from low-corruption, developed market environments supports the view that more productive firms are more likely to export, there has been little research into analysing the link between productivity and exports in high corruption, developing market environments. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to test the premise of self-selection theory whether the association between productivity and export is maintained in high-corruption environments, and second to identify other variables explaining export activity in high-corruption contexts, including cluster networks and firms’ competences.

The authors draw on the World Bank Enterprise survey to undertake a cross-section analysis including 1,233 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in nine African countries. The advantage of this database is that it contains information about the level of perceived corruption at firm level. Logistic regressions are performed for the full sample and for subsamples of firms in high- and low-corruption environments.

The findings demonstrate that the self-selection theory only applies to low-corruption environments, whereas in high-corruption environments, alternative factors such as cluster networks and outward-looking competences (OLC) exert a stronger influence on the exporting activity of African SMEs.

This research contributes to the theory as it provides evidence that contradicts the validity of self-selection theory in high-corruption environments. The findings would benefit from further longitudinal investigation.

African SMEs need to consider cluster networks and OLC as important strategic factors that might enhance their international competitiveness.

The criticism of the self-selection theory is distinctive in the literature and has important implications for future research. The authors show that the contextualisation of existing theories matters and this opens a research avenue for further more sensitive contextualisation of existing theories in developing economies.

The significance of smart mobility practices in shaping cities from a smart perspective has grown in recent years, influencing policies and the choices made by inhabitants. This transformation has led to the emergence of novel services and strategies, creating a new, vibrant and highly personalised urban environment that caters to the needs and preferences of both local residents and visitors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of smart mobility practices on tourism flows in cities, considering the moderating effect of airport activities on this relationship.

Using a generalised method of moments estimation and focusing on 20 Italian cities over an eight-year period, the authors highlight the current relationship between smart mobility practices and tourism flows. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that the yearly advancement of airports positively moderates this relationship.

The findings indicate a significant relationship between smart mobility practices in modern cities and tourism inflows because they influence the development of tourism services and emerging trends such as smart tourism and smart destinations. Furthermore, airport activities as a proxy for city openness play a crucial role in this link. The study shows that airports have an incremental impact on tourism and on the relationship between tourism and sustainable practices.

The limitations of this quantitative approach include the focus on a single country, the challenge of measuring the development of smart mobility practices due to a lack of standardised variables and the need for future research to expand the sample to different countries in relation to tourism inflows.

This study has practical implications for policymakers and governance in their task of effectively coordinating internal smart mobility practices and managing incoming tourism flows.

This study has social implications, highlighting the need for policymakers and governance to address the societal impacts of smart mobility practices and tourism inflows, ensuring inclusive and sustainable outcomes for local communities.

This study contributes to the existing literature as one of the first attempts to examine the interplay between smart mobility practices in smart cities and tourism flows. Furthermore, it emphasises the role of airports in this relationship, highlighting how the interaction between these variables benefits both stakeholders.