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Purpose: This chapter uses the different models developed in international business and the international experience of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to propose efficient ways of confronting globalization.

Design/methodology/approach: The positive experience of SMEs in countries driven by the pursuit of efficiency and innovation was analyzed, taking into account the stages of the development of the country. Uniqueness, cooperation, coalition, and integration are the key to success in the global market, as illustrated by case studies.

Findings: Factor-driven SMEs have the choice of contract marketing based on specialization or of increasing efficiency and establishing various kinds of coalition or cooperation. Efficiency- and innovation-driven SMEs can improve their global position by offering some unique value, by participating in or initiating a coalition, or by establishing strategic alliances with a multinational corporation.

Practical implications: Analysis of case studies illustrating each model of globalization helps the SMEs in selecting a relevant international business strategy over time.

Originality/value: Each model of globalization is illustrated by SMEs that have successfully implemented it.

The objective of this chapter is to explain how an innovation-driven economic development model can help to mitigate corruption and facilitate competitiveness in Nigeria.

With the use of descriptive narratives, Nigeria was examined in comparison with other countries such as South Korea. The chapter argues that Nigeria has not experienced development as much as South Korea because of her primary dependence on crude oil for economic sustenance.

Evidence from the statistics showed that innovation-driven economies are more competitive and less corrupt compared to natural resource-driven economies such as Nigeria. Nigeria has performed poorly in terms of competitiveness, transparency, and governance owing to her dependence on natural resources as a major means for economic sustenance.

Helps to explain why an innovation-driven economic development model is the solution to mitigating corruption and facilitating competitiveness in Nigeria.

This chapter compares and contrasts the application of cognitive ambidexterity by women entrepreneurs in Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and the United States of America. It focuses on how women entrepreneurs exhibit entrepreneurial leadership during first customer acquisitions. Analysis of interview data showed that the reasons for venture creation, the choice of venture, and the environmental context faced by women entrepreneurs influence the relative emphasis placed on prediction logic and creation logic. While women entrepreneurs in Kenya, Mexico, and Nigeria thrive with creation logic, those in the USA place more emphasis on prediction logic but cycle between both logics to enhance selling to early customers.

This chapter presents the African context, and in particular Sierra Leone, one that can be used as an example with common structural conditions and contingencies of many other African and developing countries. Specifically, this chapter will aim to present a brief history of Sierra Leone, its culture, and an overview of its economic and entrepreneurial ecosystem and related challenges. This chapter will also present clear evidence of the fact that EE needs contextualisation, as much as other studies on entrepreneurship. It will also present an analysis of a set of structural, education-related, and cultural factors that may impede the full application of theoretical models developed in western countries and contexts.