EURAM 2012 Annual Conference: The Internationalization of Small Firms:
Challenges and Perspectives
CALL FOR PAPERS
Dear colleagues,
As you may already know the EURAM 2012 Annual Conference will take place
in Rotterdam in The Netherlands on June 6-8 (www.euram2012.nl).
Within the Conference’s International Management theme we are organizing a
track on The Internationalization of Small Firms: Challenges and Perspectives
in which we hope you will consider participating.
This email is to invite you to present a paper for this track.
The deadline for paper submission is 17 January 2012, 2:00p.m. Brussels time.
Papers will be sent out for review in the last week of January 2012 and
reviews will be due back by the first week of March 2012.
Detailed information about our track and the guidelines for paper submission
are available on the following links.
http://euram2012.nl/userfiles/file/49_%20Internationalizing%20small%20firms%
20bis.pdf
You can find a brief description of the track below.
We are looking forward to receiving your paper and meeting you in Rotterdam.
Suzana Rodrigues, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
John Child, University of Birmingham
Said Elbanna, United Arab Emirates University
Linda Hsieh, University of Birmingham
Rene Seifert, Universidade Positivo, Brazil
For questions and submission of papers, please contact Dr. Said Elbanna at
[log in to unmask]
Description
Internationalization has historically been associated with multinational
corporations [MNCs]. However, the international market is increasingly
populated by small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs]. With globalization,
many SMEs can no longer survive in sheltered domestic markets and others
have been obliged to follow their customers as they move into foreign
markets. Recent research has drawn attention to four explanations for the
capacity of SMEs to enter foreign markets: (1) the kind of resources they
develop and deploy and their ability to manage these as dynamic capabilities;
(2) their attachment to networks that facilitate internationalization; (3) their
ability to innovate; and (4) their access to international markets through
association with MNCs.
This track invites contributions on the internationalization of SMEs. The
perspectives mentioned and the following questions provide guidelines as to
the topics on which papers are invited.
1) How does the engagement of SMEs with external relationships contribute
to their internationalization? How do such relationships increase awareness of
business opportunities and customer introductions, help the business to cope
with risky and uncertain foreign environments? To which extent do trust
relations help firms to internationalize? What kinds of network arrangements
are more effective in connecting SMEs to global chains? What is the role of
local institutions in providing support to internationalization?
2) How do entrepreneurs engage in internationalization? Does the decision to
access foreign markets emerges from unplanned events and encounters (e.g.
serendipity)? Is foreign business usually demand-driven or does the firm need
to be consistently pro-active in developing foreign business?
3) Do decision makers from organizations that have different international
experiences think differently? How are the interpretations informing action-
choices in internationalization are formed through experience and social
interaction within networks? To what extent is internationalization sought for
business growth as opposed to other purposes?
4) How do SMEs internal capabilities affect their capacity to enter foreign
markets? What is the relevance of outsourcing in internationalization
activities? Do these features vary as between traditional, innovation-based
and born-global firms?
5) The internationalization of SMEs from emerging economies, especially to
developed economies, is under-researched. Previous research has focused
almost exclusively upon organizations working in the developed countries such
as USA and UK, and a few emerging economies such as China. This track
therefore intends to encourage contributions stemming from emerging
economies. It is important to be alert to the ways in which contextually
embedded studies can contribute to our understanding of the ways in which
emerging markets SMEs access international markets. We therefore invite a
discussion of the following questions:
5.1) Do SMEs from emerging and developed countries differentiate in their
motives for, and ways of, internationalizing (e.g. tend to focus more on
exploitative internationalization activities than explorative ones)? Would SMEs
from emerging economies tend to be more reactive and cautious in their
approach to internationalization? Which kind of firms tend to leapfrog their
competitors in developed countries? Do they tend to outsource more/less
frequently than those from developed countries? Do decision makers from
developed economies act and plan differently from those from emerging
economies? How do strategic decision-making processes vary among
internationalized firms from different cultures?
5.2) Would SMEs from certain economies make greater use of socially-based
ties and be more entrepreneurial due to the opportunities they learn through
such ties? Would SMEs from East Asian economies tend to be more collective
in their approach to internationalization?
Papers dealing with other new challenges and perspectives concerning the
internationalization of SMEs are also welcome.
Keywords: SMEs internationalization, Emerging markets SMES versus
developed countries
SMES, Social organization, International entrepreneurship and cognition
____
AIB-L is brought to you by the Academy of International Business.
For information: http://aib.msu.edu/community/aib-l.asp
To post message: [log in to unmask]
For assistance: [log in to unmask]
AIB-L is a moderated list.
|
