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This article aims to explore how cluster affiliation moderates the relationship between family involvement and speed of internationalization in family firms. The speed of internationalization is examined in terms of earliness and post-internationalization speed.

The research is based on a sample of 639 Portuguese family businesses (FBs) created and internationalized between 2010 and 2018 that was retrieved from the Iberian Balance Analysis System – SABI database. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess the measurement and construct the model.

The results suggest that higher levels of family involvement in ownership and management make family firms enter on international markets in later stages of their development but, after the first international market entry, the firms are able to exhibit a higher post-internationalization speed. When considering the effect of cluster affiliation, the authors found that clustered FBs are more likely to engage in early internationalization and to accelerate the post-internationalization process than non-clustered FBs.

The study's findings are explained by the existence of socially proximate relationships with other cluster members, based on similarity, trust, knowledge exchange and sense of belonging, which push family firms to internationalize and increase their level of international commitment over time. The empirical evidence, therefore, highlights the primary role of industrial clusters in moderating the relationship between family involvement, earliness of internationalization and post-internationalization speed.

This paper aims to analyse how the temporal dimension is conceptualised in studies of the internationalisation process of firms and its implications. Theoretical models such as U-Model and INV explain the process of internationalisation as dynamic; nonetheless, time is approached as an underlying aspect of the process. In this essay, time is brought to the spotlight since, despite its strategic relevance, it has been treated implicitly in studies of the internationalisation processes, except in those that address the speed of internationalisation.

Based on a critical reassessment of the academic literature, the authors present theoretical arguments and highlight elements to be considered in the analysis of the temporal dimension throughout the internationalisation process of firms.

This essay focuses on expanding the comprehension of temporality in the internationalisation process, that underlies periods of changes, implied also in periods of stability. The paper discusses time dimension implications during the internationalisation process and reveals that there is an interaction between temporal verticality (context/events), subjective dimension of time (perception and interpretation of time) and objective dimension of time (stability and changes). Therefore, it sustains that these interactions compress past, present and future actions in the internationalisation process.

Because of the chosen research approach, this essay did not empirically apply the theoretical model and propositions. Therefore, future studies may empirically apply the propositions and use the temporal lens to look deeper at the temporality of internationalisation process and shed further light on the mechanisms that interlink the pre-and post-entry phases.

The argument helps entrepreneurs understand that actions throughout the internationalisation process are also influenced by the experience of time and not only governed by rational matters. Changes in the context can alter the perception of present time as being restricted, and in turn, may alter the flux of future internationalisation actions. However, if actions are conducted in a precipitated manner it can bring forth negative results for the firm. It is essential to recognise the importance of temporal verticality and subjective dimension of time as influencers of future actions of the objective dimension of time in the process of internationalisation.

While most research is restricted to understanding time as speed, this essay brings a theoretical model extending the knowledge of time in the literature of international business and international entrepreneurship, by including factors that imply temporality. By explaining the relationship between temporal aspects, it is argued that temporal verticality (events and context) influences temporal subjectivity (perception of the present and interpretation of the past) to direct future actions of the temporality of internationalisation (stability and changes).

Extant literature suggests that post-entry internationalization strategies and performance implications of born globals are an under-researched area. This paper aims to examine the internationalization strategies of born global service firms (BGSFs) and performance implications thereof through strategic group analysis of hand-collected data from Indian information technology (IT) firms.

Strategic group analysis has been used to examine if there are any differences in the strategic decisions across firms and if there are any implications of these strategies on the performance of firms. The strategic group approach helps understand not only the antecedents but also the strategic trade-offs that different groups of BGSFs face after internationalization. The study uses Indian IT industry as the context for analysis of BGSFs, as studies have found that the Indian IT industry to have significant presence of born globals.

Four distinct strategic paths were found to be followed by BGSFs. In addition, the nature of services and ways of mobilization or deployment of resources explain the different internationalization paths and consequently performance. The performance differences primarily stem from the choice of degree of commitment and scope of internationalization.

This study provides distinct insights to practice by charting internationalization paths for an emerging born global.

This paper contributes to the theory on born globals by using strategic lens to explain the internationalization paths and their performance implications.

The varying nature of the competitive environment of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), contributing significantly to gross domestic product in most countries, has made their moving toward internationalization and global competition unavoidable in such a way that the life cycle of research in this area is experiencing a period of rapid growth. This study aims to evaluate the status of research on SME internationalization based on bibliographic records retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus.

Using a scientometric analysis, reviewing the important points and the boundaries of research on SME internationalization as well as practicing co-occurrence and burst detection analysis.

Through a rigorous examination of the crucial points and boundaries within the realm of SMEs internationalization research, coupled with an analysis of co-occurrence and burst detection techniques to detect contemporary hotbed topics, this study has uncovered that the predominant focus of current discourse centers around the areas of networks and networking, as well as internationalization models and entry into the global arena. Moreover, it gives insight that future investigations will shift toward enhancing SME internationalization performance, while simultaneously prioritizing the expeditiousness of their entrance into international markets. The insights garnered from this inquiry are expected to facilitate salient contributions to future literature in this area, thereby advancing our understanding of these complex phenomena.

The trend of the research in this field can be useful for enthusiasts. In this context, the life cycle of research on SME internationalization has been drawn that shows the period of research growth of publications is almost between 2005 and 2023, and the saturation will be approximately from 2023 to 2035. The top researching SME internationalization in the world have been occurred in the USA, England, Canada, Sweden countries and in Department of Management, Department of Marketing, School of Management, Faculty of Management Studies institutions. Also, most of the research has been published in Journal of International Business Studies, International Business Review and Strategic Management Journal.

This study accordingly provided a valuable perspective for future research in this line.

The decision to become international is a highlighted organisational decision that affects all dimensions at all firm levels. Human resources are also among the parts of the organisation affected by this decision. Paying attention to employees can speed up and facilitate this process. Organisational integrity is one of the most significant issues that must be considered. In this regard, identifying, investigating and planning to deal with the destructive effects that may influence the employees of small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) in internationalisation, are among the subjects that have so far received less attention and should be studied more. The present study explores the destructive influences of internationalisation on the employees of SMEs by a hybrid multi-layer decision-making model-psychological solution. First, by reviewing the literature, the destructive impacts of internationalisation on employees are extracted. In the next stage, these factors are screened according to the condition of the SMEs in an emerging economy by interval-valued intuitionistic hesitant fuzzy Delphi (IVIHF-Delphi). The impact of these factors on each other is then evaluated applying interval-valued intuitionistic hesitant fuzzy DEMATEL-based ANP (IVIHF-DANP). Consequently, the highlighted destructive impacts are determined and the psychological solutions to face them are provided.

Current internationalisation and international business (IB) theories are silent on the intermittent internationalising experiences of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) from emerging economies (EEs). The aim of this chapter is to examine the role that networks play in facilitating SMEs from EEs subsequent behaviour following intermittent (exit and subsequent re-entry) internationalising experiences, and to build the theory of this process. Internationalisation of SMEs is a complex phenomenon. Utilising qualitative interview-based data from 15 Pakistani and Chinese SME entrepreneurs, industry experts and government representatives, this study concludes the following: SMEs from EEs continuously reconfigure existing products, resources and markets through networks while reducing and reviving levels of commitment with partners in international markets. Additionally, entrepreneurs from these markets proactively choose to dissolve existing relationships, withdraw from foreign markets to seek new partnerships and diversify resources to reduce foreign market uncertainty. However, some SME entrepreneurs seek to re-enter into previous markets utilising prior relationships and networks. Hence, successful management of network relationships over time is a challenge for internationalising SMEs.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between experiential knowledge of foreign markets, institutional word of mouth (WOM) and small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs’) internationalization. Specifically, it aims to provide explanations of what and how cross-border experiential knowledge can be institutionally transmitted for SMEs’ internationalization purposes via WOM.

An exploratory approach was adopted within the phenomenological/qualitative research tradition. The data collection process was conducted through 23 semi-structured interviews with founders and chief executive officers of Saudi international SMEs.

The study’s findings confirm that SMEs seeking productive opportunities in the international market could improve their internationalization experience if they made proper use of institutional WOM as a catalyst for inter-firm learning. This concerns SMEs from emerging countries in particular as they are usually in a bid to legitimatize their presence in foreign markets.

The triadic relationship between experiential knowledge, institutional WOM and internationalization has not been previously researched. The current study, therefore, clearly adds value to the concept of WOM from three dimensions: institutionalization, cross-borderity and SMEs’ internationalization.

Operating in a variety of countries, multinational companies (MNCs) experience a high variety and variability of physiological and contextual dynamics, requiring a more careful knowledge management approach. In this scenario, this paper aims to investigate the entrepreneurial facets and managerial aspects (entrepreneurial orientation/managerial intentionality) of MNCs’ internationalization from a knowledge-based perspective.

A theory-building approach is applied, involving a comparative case study of two MNCs conceived through the separation of a unique family business. Aiming to enrich the research about companies’ internationalization, some crucial elements are individuated to build a theoretical frame explaining the evolutionary paths of so-called born global.

This paper shows that companies’ internationalization development is based on a multiplicity of variables and underlines the need to incorporate different points of view when attempting to explain the dynamics of internationalization processes.

The empirical significance of the two cases does not legitimize theorization. However, this research presents interesting results that could be strengthened by a series of comparative case studies dealing with other MNCs or deeper quantitative investigation.

This research approach could be considered as stimulating by the scientific and managerial community, as the internationalization process is articulated by mixing managerial, entrepreneurial and cognitive aspects.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the internationalisation decision-making process using causation and effectuation.

The proposed hypotheses are tested with a survey data set of 148 Kenyan small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to assess the pre-internationalisation decision-making of the firm. Multinomial logistic regression has been used to predict the categories from total effectuation to total causation.

The results of this study show that firm resources and capability provide a solid basis for firms' internationalisation. The entrepreneur becomes more effectual commence as they assess the firm's resource and capability. Entrepreneurs with a high entrepreneurial self-efficacy use both causation and effectuation with a bias towards effectuation. Increasing environmental predictability led the firms to use less effectuation, and increasing psychic distance entails high effectuation relative to high causation in the Kenyan context.

The sample choice of the category is Kenyan SMEs which may raise some questions. This study assumed that SMEs sampled had the same level of internationalisation experience regardless of the number of years in business.

This study theoretically advances the field of international business by combining the Uppsala internationalisation model with effectuation; this study defines four antecedents of decision-making to form its conceptual framework to study internationalisation decision-making approach for SMEs using the effectuation logic and adds to the stream of literature that has reviewed the factors that influence the internationalisation decision-making process for SMEs in developing countries.

This paper highlights the relevance of using social network analysis (SNA) as a different methodological approach to understand the numerous complex interactions that take place within the internationalization process.

The paper is divided into three major sections: First, it identifies relevant articles on social networks published in appropriate academic journals; second, the process leading to SNA is presented; third, an illustrative case is described to show the relevance of SNA within the context of international business.

Drawing on relevant literature, the authors found that most studies in the field of social networks and internationalization rely on conventional research methods based on qualitative (e.g. multiple case studies) or quantitative studies (e.g. surveys). Without questioning the relevance of these methods, the authors claim that very few studies have used the SNA methodology, which is based on a sociometric approach addressing the interactional dynamics embedded in international relationships.

Specifically, this paper attempts to analyze the major advantages and shortcomings of the SNA methodology, which may be useful to understand interactional (or relational) effects associated with an internationalization strategy.