SMEs and International Entrepreneurship
Emilia Rovira Nordman, Mälardalen University, Sweden
Sheryl Winston Smith, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway
This track mainly focuses upon entrepreneurial activities conducted by new, young ventures and established SMEs across borders. It also allows for systematic comparisons of entrepreneurship across national institutional settings. Interest in these firms has grown as new ventures and SMEs adapt to changes in technology, digitalization, and evolving patterns of globalization in which new and cheaper forms of transportation, new technologies and changing trade relationships have paved the way for many smaller firms to internationalize quicker and in different ways than before. International New Ventures (INVs), Born Global Firms (BGFs), and early/rapidly versus late internationalizing SMEs are also considered to be important engines for growth, and more studies are needed about how these firms launch, scale, and grow for long-term survival. We welcome contributions that focus on current research issues in SME internationalization and international entrepreneurship (IE). Track topics can include but are not limited to: internationalization strategies of SMEs and IEs; consequences of de-internationalization for SMEs and IEs; opportunities connected to immigration and global mobility for SMEs and IEs; international growth and market expansion strategies from foreign market selection, timing and entry mode of initial and following foreign market entries to scaling operations, business models, managerial capabilities and venture capital; performance-oriented studies investigating the implications for success and/or failure of these firms (e.g. managerial influences, knowledge influences, dynamic capabilities, networks, etc.). Studies about international family-firms, digital entrepreneurial firms, and international sustainable (green and social) entrepreneurship, and international corporate entrepreneurship, and international access to angel and venture capital funding and other forms of entrepreneurial financing are also encouraged. We invite conceptual papers and all types of empirical papers based on qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods about SME internationalization and international entrepreneurship (IE). Papers based on all types of approaches using longitudinal data are especially welcome.
Keywords
International SMEs; international entrepreneurship; internationalization process, international expansion, born globals; international new ventures; international family-firms, digital entrepreneurial firms, international sustainable entrepreneurship.