Small firm internationalisation: an investigative survey and future research directions

Abstract

Surveys the literature on internationalisation research and identifies a number of theoretical and practical inadequacies in terms of current theory’s ability in describing behaviour of the smaller firm. A range of internationalisation theories are discussed, from their historical provenance in economic trade theory to the more recent developments concerning the impact of technology and networking. It is concluded that the majority of frameworks fail to readily explain smaller firm internationalisation behaviour. A number of implications and recommendations are presented, including the promotion of the belief that the emerging marketing and entrepreneurship paradigm provides additional understanding of smaller firm internationalisation, where creativity and innovative behaviour can act as a competitive advantage over firms with larger resources at their disposal. This then acts as a catalyst for internationalisation development.