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Building from the authors’ plan to conceptualize an artificial intelligence (AI) solution that allows SME owners to make more sustainable choices in foreign-market-entry decisions, this systematic literature review (SLR) researches the state-of-the-art in SME internationalization from 1920 to 2023 (since 2014 in more depth). The authors gather all articles in Scopus, tagged with the keyword internationalization (25,303 as of January 2023), order them by citations, and download the top 2000 papers’ metadata for analysis and debate, then narrow it to reviews and SMEs, and use bibliometric visualization and qualitative data analysis software (VOSviewer and NVivo) to identify the key players and determinants of export performance/intensity, and finally draw conclusions. The results reveal key internationalization theories, top authors, reviews, and sources and expand Werner´s determinants via several tables and figures. The findings reveal the rise of relevance regarding theories related to social narratives and corporate activism, but also show that there is still much to do in SME internationalization, namely on what makes a small firm well established in their native market and have success in other countries. The contribution to science is an update on the topic and the pinpointing of several trends and gaps, such as a focus on services, theory integration, longitudinal studies between antecedents and performance, strategic fit versus opportunism, network theory on niche marketing, born-“glocal” strategies, disruptive technologies, and discourse variables, for the future of SME export success.

Social networks are a driving force of digital transformation and offer firms the opportunity to market products and services to both international consumers and providers, establish durable relationships with them, and improve their own competitiveness. The study analyzes the role played by the use of Facebook for online advertising, building interaction and brand communities, implementing social CRM activities, and conducting market research, as well as a sales channel alternative to physical presence, in firms’ international export performance, both in terms of managers’ perceptions and Facebook buy button conversion rate. A survey-based empirical analysis of 105 fashion firms operating worldwide was conducted. The results of multiple regression analyses show that building conversations and brand communities positively affects international export performance, while advertising via Facebook yields mixed results. By comparing firms that have a physical presence with those that do not, the former turned out to benefit from especially in-store advertising and promotions to enhance their Facebook buy button conversion rate; while the latter can improve their performance mainly by adopting outdoor and transit advertising and digital marketing. The research contributes to the existing body of knowledge on social media marketing and international business and, by adopting a firm-level perspective, provides interesting insights for practitioners since it allows to understand how to develop an effective Facebook strategy to succeed in foreign markets.

PurposeExport market orientation can be broadly divided into intelligence (generation and dissemination) and responsiveness activities. Although previous studies assess intelligence and responsiveness activities, little is known about what type of international channel partner acts as an enabling condition for the impact of these activities on export venture performance. This study aims to examine the extent to which the selection of international channel partners through word-of-mouth referrals versus direct contacts affects the benefits of intelligence and responsiveness activities.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 246 exporting manufacturers in Japan. To test the hypotheses, we conducted regression analyses using a subjective performance measure at the venture level. We also performed a post hoc analysis using objective performance measure at the function level.FindingsWe find that the extent to which international channel partners are selected through word-of-mouth referrals has a moderating role in the export market-oriented activities–performance linkages. Specifically, it acts as an enabling condition for intelligence activity and a disenabling condition for responsiveness activity.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a better understanding of export market orientation by classifying it into intelligence and responsiveness activities and providing empirical evidence on their different interaction effects with partner selection. It also contributes to the elaboration of agency theory by offering insights into the fit between task characteristics and contract type. Our study is critical for business managers as it suggests guidelines for manufacturing exporters engaging in export market-oriented behaviors and export channel management.

PurposeThe main goal of this paper is to study empirically the importance of experience of top managers and firms for export performance, having controlled for a number of firm characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the probit model applied to the 2020 edition of the BEEPS firm level survey. The authors analyze firms in 15 EU member and 15 non-member countries.FindingsThe results indicate that firm experience can increase the probability of direct exporting, but is not significant for indirect exporting. The results also support the importance of interaction between experience of managers and experience of firms. The authors conclude that only the combination of managerial and firm experience can have a positive and significant effect for direct exporting. This relationship is more pronounced in the case of EU members.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations of our approach are related to data constraints. These include availability of only cross-sectional data and the limited number of individual characteristics of managers.Practical implicationsThe importance of experience for exporting suggests that firms can break into foreign markets by hiring more experienced managers.Social implicationsPost-communist countries can improve their export performance by hiring more experienced managers that would stimulate direct exports. Moreover, they can also export indirectly through intermediaries.Originality/valueIn contrast to previous studies, the authors used a model proposed by Jørgensen and Schroder (2008) in which the authors endogenized the costs of exporting by linking them to firm and managerial experience. Then, the authors validated empirically the importance of experience for firm export performance, having controlled for the set of individual firm characteristics.

Services export plays a significant role in the world economy and benefits businesses and countries. In the service sector, higher education service has become vital for countries’ economic sustainability. The flux of international students has created global business opportunities and trade networks. However, past studies have largely focused on exports within the manufacturing industry rather than service exports, particularly on the inward export service industry. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between business technology strategy, cultural sensitivity, and export performance in the higher education service industry. Data were collected from directors of international offices of 137 Malaysian higher education institutions. PLS-SEM was used for data analysis using the SmartPLS 3.2.8 software. The findings reveal that business technology strategy is positively related to cultural sensitivity and inward export performance. Furthermore, the study found that business technology strategy mediates the relationship between cultural sensitivity and inward export performance. The findings can help researchers in understanding factors that influence the inward export performance of higher education institutions. Since business technology strategy plays a mediating role in the inward export performance of higher education, this study recommends that Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs) are equipped with the latest education-related technologies in order to increase their internationalization performance.

Regional clusters and innovations in product and processes are found in the literature as important determinants of firms' export performance. However, this relationship is still controversial and very highly constrained by industry, and by regions. Based on a more integrative perspective, the aim of the present article is to investigate the role of agglomeration economies of a regional cluster on the export performance of firms. Furthermore, we will test the mediating effect of innovation and the extent by which the technological intensity of the industry can perform a moderating effect between the constructs. Based on a sample of 100 export companies operating in the manufacturing industries, we use structural equation modeling to estimate the determinants of export performance. The results reveal that the agglomeration economies of a regional cluster have been found determinant factors of the export performance, as well as a significant source to generate innovations by firms. However, we found no evidence between the innovations in products and processes and export performance. The results have also shown that there are no differences among technological intensity of the industries, suggesting that the firms will access agglomeration resources of regional cluster in a complementary way to their internal resources.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and evaluate recent studies on determinants of export performance. Design/methodology/approach Using a vote-counting technique this paper reviews 124 papers published between 2006 and 2014 to assess the determinants of export performance. Findings The results indicate that significant progress has been made during these nine years and that: numerous new determinants are identified, data quality and statistical biases have received considerable attention, and interaction and indirect relationships are considered. However, at the same time, the research of export performance is still limited by a lack of synthetic theoretical basis, inconsistent empirical test results, and insufficiency in the research framework and statistical methodologies. Originality/value Export performance has received increasing attention over recent decades, but the area is still characterized by fragmentation and diversity hindering theoretical and practical development. This paper integrates the findings of recent studies on export performance and provides further discussion from both theoretical and methodological aspects, and points out the directions for future research.

The purpose of the study is to analyse the joint impact of external factors of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as export promotion programmes (EPPs), which encompass trade mobility-, information-, education-, and training-related programmes, and internal factors of SMEs, which encompass export-related resources, preceding-year export performance, and its impact on current-period export performance. The study tests their relationship with structural equation modelling using a random sample of 95 exporting SMEs in an emerging economy, Peru. The results indicate that experiential knowledge provided by trade mobility-related programmes and export performance of the preceding year positively influence the resources of SMEs oriented towards export activity as well as current export performance. Moreover, the results highlight the need to review the efficacy and design of EPPs, acknowledging the available resources of SMEs as well as the internationalisation theories of the firm, in order to enhance their influence on the international development and export performance of SMEs. Finally, the study has extended the knowledge about emerging economies by showing the role EPPs play in SMEs’export performance.

Purpose: The objective of this research is to empirically analyze the role played by corporate image, sustainability, and innovative orientation on export performance. Design/methodology/approach: hypothesis testing was conducted with a sample of 180 manufacturing SMEs in Seville (Spain) and a structural equation system is modeled using the technique Partial Least Squares (PLS). The research model includes the following variables: corporate image, sustainability, and innovative orientation on export performance. Findings: The results show the positive effect of sustainability and innovative orientation on export performance, as well as the mediator effect of corporate image on these relationships. Research limitations/implications: The results may be more general if we had used a national sample and cross cultural. The conclusions cannot be directly extrapolated to other countries. This work propose future research doing the same study with other types companies. Originality/value: Corporate image requires special attention, as it acts as a filter of the impacts of sustainability and innovative orientation. The creation of corporate image not only as a result of tangible items, but as a result of the actions and behavior of the company. In this research is showed that there is a high level of complexity in the management of intangibles since the intangibles influence each other, such as the influence of sustainability and innovative orientation on corporate image. Managers should focus on proper design and management of the company image, in order to compete and grow in the international area.

PurposeGuided by resource-based theory, this study unpacks the relationship between an export entrepreneurial marketing orientation (EMO) and export performance. This is undertaken by investigating quadratic effects and the moderating role of export coopetition (cooperation amongst competitors in an international arena).Design/methodology/approachSurvey responses were collected from a sample of 282 smaller-sized wine producers in Italy. This empirical context was ideal, as it hosted varying degrees of the constructs within the conceptual model. Put another way, it was suitable to test the underlying issues for theorising purposes. The hypotheses and control paths were tested through a three-step hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsAn export EMO had a non-linear (inverted U-shaped) association with export performance. Furthermore, this link was positively moderated by export coopetition. With too little of an export EMO, small enterprises might struggle to create value for their overseas customers. With too much of an export EMO, owner-managers could experience harmful performance outcomes. By cooperating with appropriate industry rivals, small companies can acquire new resources, capabilities and opportunities to help them to boost their export performance. That is, export coopetition can stabilise some of the potential dangers of employing an export EMO.Originality/valueThe empirical findings signified that an export EMO has potential dark-sides if these firm-wide behaviours are not implemented effectively. Nevertheless, cooperating with competitors in export markets can alleviate some of these concerns. Collectively, unique insights have emerged, whereby entrepreneurs are advantaged by being strategically flexible and collaborating with appropriate key stakeholders to enhance their export performance.