Abstract
This text contributes to the growing body of knowledge that has emerged over the last couple of decades on the subject of international entrepreneurship. Although a revised definition was proposed later, arguably a number of authors still use the one by McDougall and Oviatt that views this as ‘a combination of innovative, proactive and risk-seeking behaviour that crosses national borders and is intended to create value in organisations’ (2000: 903).
The book involves research relating to one specific area of international entrepreneurship, namely international growth. It starts with a brief overview by the editor and a co-researcher of past, present and future issues associated with the international growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This serves as an introduction to a further 17 chapters by various academics in the field of research divided into five broad sections. Each chapter is associated with particular aspects of the international growth of SMEs, before an epilogue is provided by the editor in terms of potential avenues for future research.
A number of the authors in the book are well known in the international entrepreneurship research area, and have contributed to varying degrees to the McGill series of conferences and associated edited texts, plus journals arising from the events. The first conference was held in Montreal in 1998 and has been an annual event typically held in alternate years between Montreal and a guest location. From this series of conferences the Journal of International Entrepreneurship was developed, although participants have published widely to develop the research area in associated journals in domains such as management, marketing, strategy plus naturally others related to entrepreneurship and small business.
The first section of the book contains four chapters concerning drivers of international growth, with the first three focusing on managerial influences and orientations. Specifically, the first provides evidence from Latin America and South-East Asia of entrepreneurs’ human and relational capital as predictors of early internationalization. The second considers the board’s influence on SMEs’ internationalization processes, and the third reports on longitudinal data concerning the international growth orientation of management teams in SMEs. The last looks at what the authors call the ‘dark side’, drawing the attention of the reader to some of the consequences of pursuing an international growth strategy and highlighting this as an under-researched area.
In the second section, five chapters cover aspects of the growth trajectories of SMEs. Particular contexts are discussed, for example, geographical and sector considerations. The first reports on growth strategies in French and Danish SMEs, while the second involves case study research involving growth strategies in different marketing contexts. The third involves data involving the entry into what are considered to be complex markets. The fourth involves what is termed as the ‘binary choice’ facing SME internationalization and considers case study data of strategies that are diametrically opposite. The final paper in this section involves technology-based new ventures and looks at critical incidents in their growth.
The third section contains three chapters that consider the question of how should we study international growth. Here, a range of papers cover issues involving first, a typology of rapidly internationalizing firms; second, sampling frames in cross-national survey research; third, in terms of export behaviour, growth and performance and the question of whether ownership matters.
In the fourth section two chapters cover aspects of the role of networks in the international growth of SMEs. The first takes a social capital perspective on new venture internationalization and technological learning, while the second takes a network perspective on SMEs’ changing internationalization processes over time.
The final section involves three illustrative cases into aspects of international growth from three different countries. This is followed by an epilogue where the editor summarizes the contribution of the text and asks the question: where should we head from here in respect of growth strategies in international entrepreneurship research?
This is a specific text reporting on the factors associated with the international growth of SMEs. However, it draws on a number of perspectives, as outlined in the previously reported sections. As such, it is focused on a specific audience within the wider business and management field. As such, the book will be useful for international entrepreneurship researchers such as staff and doctoral students and will act as applied reading for certain taught courses addressing this area of study.