What Is Going on with the Research into the Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)? An Intellectual Structure Analysis into the State-of-the-Art (1990–2018)
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Background
2.1. SME Internationalization
2.2. Main Topics in Research
2.2.1. Enablers
2.2.2. Barriers
2.2.3. Patterns or Pathways
3. Methodology
3.1. Definition of the Field of Study
3.2. Database Selection
3.3. Research Criteria Adjustment
3.4. Codification of Recovered Material
3.5. Examination of the Information
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Descriptive Analysis
4.1.1. Distribution of Scientific Production
4.1.2. Countries, Institutions, Authors and Papers
4.2. Content Analysis
4.3. Interpretation of the Analysis
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Data | SME Internationalization Research |
---|---|
Number of articles | 1152 |
Number of journals | 378 |
Number of authors | 921 |
Number of countries | 78 |
Number of citations | 11,022 |
Year | A | C | C/A | AU | AUA | JA | COA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 1.00 | 5 | 2 |
1991 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 |
1992 | 2 | 5 | 0.71 | 2 | 1.00 | 2 | 3 |
1993 | 3 | 2 | 0.25 | 5 | 1.67 | 3 | 2 |
1994 | 4 | 2 | 0.22 | 7 | 1.75 | 4 | 1 |
1995 | 4 | 2 | 0.22 | 8 | 2.00 | 3 | 3 |
1996 | 3 | 9 | 1.13 | 8 | 2.67 | 3 | 3 |
1997 | 13 | 29 | 1.61 | 25 | 1.92 | 10 | 7 |
1998 | 13 | 24 | 1.33 | 40 | 3.08 | 6 | 9 |
1999 | 15 | 35 | 1.75 | 24 | 1.60 | 8 | 7 |
2000 | 15 | 80 | 4.00 | 31 | 2.07 | 13 | 10 |
2001 | 18 | 95 | 4.13 | 34 | 1.89 | 13 | 11 |
2002 | 15 | 110 | 5.50 | 30 | 2.00 | 14 | 8 |
2003 | 12 | 192 | 11.29 | 21 | 1.75 | 6 | 9 |
2004 | 22 | 354 | 13.11 | 41 | 1.86 | 18 | 14 |
2005 | 28 | 343 | 10.39 | 56 | 2.00 | 18 | 19 |
2006 | 44 | 603 | 12.31 | 97 | 2.20 | 28 | 25 |
2007 | 42 | 663 | 14.11 | 82 | 1.95 | 35 | 14 |
2008 | 46 | 769 | 15.08 | 99 | 2.15 | 33 | 28 |
2009 | 69 | 961 | 12.99 | 130 | 1.88 | 53 | 23 |
2010 | 72 | 1,134 | 14.73 | 154 | 2.14 | 54 | 30 |
2011 | 83 | 1,674 | 19.02 | 159 | 1.92 | 55 | 31 |
2012 | 81 | 1,738 | 20.21 | 180 | 2.22 | 48 | 36 |
2013 | 68 | 1,830 | 25.07 | 159 | 2.34 | 46 | 33 |
2014 | 88 | 2,452 | 26.37 | 196 | 2.23 | 64 | 46 |
2015 | 97 | 2,379 | 23.32 | 214 | 2.21 | 67 | 45 |
2016 | 104 | 3,280 | 30.09 | 265 | 2.55 | 69 | 38 |
2017 | 86 | 3,143 | 34.54 | 224 | 2.60 | 59 | 44 |
2018 | 99 | 4,045 | 38.89 | 237 | 2.39 | 70 | 42 |
Journal | A | COU | C | C/A | 1st A | Last A | C/Y | h-Index |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Journal of International Entrepreneurship | 57 | Netherlands | 972 | 17.05 | 2005 | 2018 | 74.77 | 22 |
International Business Review | 52 | United Kingdom | 1873 | 36.02 | 1997 | 2018 | 89.19 | 25 |
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development | 36 | United Kingdom | 665 | 18.47 | 1998 | 2018 | 33.25 | 15 |
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business | 32 | United Kingdom | 229 | 7.16 | 2004 | 2018 | 16.36 | 8 |
International Marketing Review | 29 | United Kingdom | 1112 | 38.34 | 2002 | 2018 | 69.50 | 17 |
Journal of World Business | 27 | United Kingdom | 942 | 34.89 | 2007 | 2018 | 85.64 | 17 |
Journal of Small Business Management | 25 | United Kingdom | 1074 | 42.96 | 1998 | 2018 | 53.70 | 19 |
International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business | 24 | United Kingdom | 148 | 6.17 | 2004 | 2018 | 10.57 | 4 |
International Small Business Journal | 21 | United States | 1025 | 48.81 | 1995 | 2014 | 53.95 | 17 |
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management | 20 | United Kingdom | 132 | 6.60 | 2003 | 2018 | 8.80 | 7 |
Country | A | AH | C | C/A | h-Index | 1st A | Last A |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 171 | 2.59 | 3659 | 21.40 | 40 | 1997 | 2018 |
United States | 128 | 0.39 | 3173 | 24.79 | 32 | 1990 | 2018 |
Italy | 98 | 1.62 | 1189 | 12.13 | 18 | 1993 | 2018 |
Spain | 94 | 2.02 | 1625 | 17.29 | 23 | 2005 | 2018 |
Sweden | 78 | 7.75 | 1753 | 22.47 | 24 | 1996 | 2018 |
Canada | 74 | 2.02 | 3059 | 41.34 | 23 | 1996 | 2018 |
Finland | 64 | 11.61 | 1040 | 16.25 | 24 | 1997 | 2018 |
Australia | 61 | 2.48 | 1866 | 30.59 | 24 | 1992 | 2018 |
Germany | 56 | 0.68 | 586 | 10.46 | 13 | 1999 | 2018 |
France | 49 | 0.73 | 385 | 7.86 | 11 | 2001 | 2018 |
Institution | Country | A | C | C/A | 1st A | Last A | h-Index |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto | Finland | 23 | 435 | 18.91 | 2004 | 2018 | 11 |
University of Glasgow | United Kingdom | 19 | 437 | 23.00 | 2001 | 2018 | 12 |
Handelshögskolan i Stockholm | Sweden | 19 | 544 | 28.63 | 2005 | 2018 | 9 |
Ulster University | Ireland | 17 | 778 | 45.76 | 2004 | 2016 | 11 |
Università degli Studi di Pavia | Italy | 15 | 467 | 31.13 | 2003 | 2018 | 9 |
Mendelova univerzita v Brne | Czech Republic | 14 | 21 | 1.50 | 2010 | 2017 | 2 |
University of Jyvaskyla | Finland | 14 | 346 | 24.71 | 2008 | 2014 | 10 |
Universidade do Minho | Portugal | 13 | 153 | 11.77 | 1999 | 2018 | 5 |
University of Seville | Spain | 13 | 366 | 28.15 | 2005 | 2016 | 12 |
University of Nottingham | United Kingdom | 12 | 795 | 66.25 | 2001 | 2012 | 9 |
Author | A | C | C/A | 1st A | Last A | h-Index | Country | Affiliation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crick, D. | 16 | 839 | 52.44 | 1997 | 2015 | 11 | United Kingdom | University of Central England |
Kuivalainen, O. | 14 | 334 | 2.86 | 2004 | 2018 | 9 | Finland | Lappeenranta University of Technology |
Saarenketo, S. | 14 | 412 | 29 | 2004 | 2016 | 11 | Finland | Lappeenranta University of Technology |
Hilmersson, M. | 11 | 178 | 16 | 2007 | 2017 | 6 | Sweden | University of Gothenburg |
Ojala, A. | 10 | 321 | 32 | 2008 | 2012 | 9 | Finland | University of Jyväskylä |
Puumalainen, K. | 10 | 327 | 33 | 2004 | 2016 | 8 | Finland | Lappeenranta Univ. of Technology |
Zucchella, A. | 10 | 435 | 44 | 2003 | 2017 | 8 | Italy | University of Pavia |
Dimitratos, P. | 9 | 87 | 10 | 2002 | 2018 | 4 | United Kingdom | University of Strathclyde |
Kubícková, L. | 9 | 12 | 1 | 2010 | 2017 | 2 | Czech Republic | Mendel University |
Loane, S. | 8 | 395 | 49.38 | 2005 | 2016 | 5 | United Kingdom | University of Ulsterf |
Title | Author/s | Journal | C | Year | C/Y |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The internationalization and performance of SMEs | Lu, J.W., Beamish, P.W. | Strategic Management Journal | 919 | 2001 | 54,1 |
Network relationships and the internationalisation process of small software firms | Coviello, N., Munro, H. | International Business Review | 737 | 1997 | 35,1 |
The influence of the management team’s international experience on the internationalization behaviors of SMEs | Reuber, A.R., Fischer, E. | Journal of International Business Studies | 595 | 1997 | 28,3 |
The internationalization of new and small firms: A resource-based view | Westhead, P., Wright, M., Ucbasaran, D. | Journal of Business Venturing | 532 | 2001 | 31,3 |
Internationalization and the performance of born-global SMEs: The mediating role of social networks | Zhou, L., Wu, W.-P., Luo, X. | Journal of International Business Studies | 455 | 2007 | 41,4 |
Topics | Documents | h-Index | Citations | Centrality | Density |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ICT | 57 | 24 | 1,487 | 1 | 0.7 |
COMPETITIVENESS | 22 | 9 | 362 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
MARKETING | 20 | 12 | 577 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
STRATEGIC-MANAGEMENT | 31 | 15 | 822 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
NETWORKS | 28 | 16 | 1,853 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 42 | 26 | 3,100 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
EXPORT | 48 | 23 | 2,569 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
BORN-GLOBALS | 17 | 12 | 1,362 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
ENTREPRENEUR | 9 | 9 | 529 | 0.3 | 1 |
ENTRY-MODES | 15 | 10 | 507 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
Topics | Documents | h-Index | Citations | Centrality | Density |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CORPORATE-STRATEGY | 62 | 18 | 922 | 1 | 0.85 |
FIRM-SIZE | 16 | 8 | 261 | 0.77 | 0.77 |
BUSINESS-PERFORMANCE | 22 | 12 | 567 | 0.31 | 0.69 |
ENTRY-MODES | 25 | 11 | 551 | 0.54 | 0.46 |
ENTREPRENEURIAL-ORIENTATION | 29 | 14 | 927 | 0.46 | 1 |
BORN-GLOBALS | 36 | 18 | 969 | 0.69 | 0.38 |
INTERNATIONALIZATION-PROCESS | 23 | 8 | 285 | 0.15 | 0.62 |
FAMILY-FIRMS | 28 | 15 | 874 | 0.08 | 0.54 |
EXPORT | 65 | 24 | 1,565 | 0.92 | 0.31 |
ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 70 | 25 | 1,579 | 0.62 | 0.15 |
SERVICE-SECTOR | 9 | 4 | 118 | 0.38 | 0.92 |
INNOVATION | 42 | 14 | 681 | 0.85 | 0.08 |
INTERNATIONALIZATION-STRATEGY | 17 | 8 | 232 | 0.23 | 0.23 |
CORPORATE-STRATEGY | 62 | 18 | 922 | 1 | 0.85 |
Topics | Documents | h-Index | Citations | Centrality | Density |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
STRATEGIC-MANAGEMENT | 13 | 5 | 40 | 0.59 | 1 |
ENTREPRENEUR | 66 | 10 | 279 | 1 | 0.76 |
ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 28 | 6 | 89 | 0.65 | 0.53 |
INTERNATIONAL-ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 98 | 15 | 762 | 0.94 | 0.59 |
EMERGING-ECONOMIES | 36 | 8 | 252 | 0.88 | 0.47 |
EXPORT | 46 | 8 | 310 | 0.53 | 0.18 |
INTERNATIONAL-PERFORMANCE | 51 | 11 | 335 | 0.71 | 0.41 |
EXPORT-PERFORMANCE | 15 | 4 | 74 | 0.41 | 0.71 |
RISK-PERCEPTION | 22 | 5 | 50 | 0.29 | 0.65 |
INVESTMENT | 3 | 2 | 10 | 0.06 | 0.94 |
GLOBAL-MINDSET | 5 | 2 | 23 | 0.12 | 0.88 |
DIFFERENTIATION-STRATEGIES | 11 | 3 | 62 | 0.18 | 0.82 |
INTERNATIONALIZATION-STRATEGY | 18 | 7 | 115 | 0.47 | 0.35 |
BUSINESS-NETWORKS | 17 | 6 | 72 | 0.24 | 0.29 |
ENTREPRENEURIAL-ORIENTATION | 18 | 6 | 150 | 0.35 | 0.24 |
CLUSTER | 24 | 3 | 64 | 0.76 | 0.12 |
ENTRY-MODES | 26 | 8 | 220 | 0.82 | 0.06 |
STRATEGIC-MANAGEMENT | 13 | 5 | 40 | 0.59 | 1 |
Type of Indicators | Analysis Carried Out | Most Relevant Results | Primary Conclusions |
---|---|---|---|
Productivity indicators | Amount of articles per year of publication | 2016 was the most productive year with 104 published articles | The theme is consolidated in the literature |
Percentage of articles per subject area | Business, Management and Accounting is the most relevant subject area, encompassing 54% of published articles | The topic need a more multidisciplinary approach | |
Amount of articles per journal | The Journal of International Entrepreneurship is the most productive one with 57 papers | There is a widespread dispersion of journals publishing about this topic | |
Amount of articles per country | United Kingdom, United States and Italy represent the most productive countries | European countries and North-American countries head this field | |
Amount of articles per institution | Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto is the leading institution in SME Internationalization research | Europe encompasses the ten most productive institutions in this field | |
Amount of papers per author | The most prominent authors are Crick, D., Kuivalainen, O. and Saarenketo, S. | The ten most productive authors represent six different European countries | |
Collaboration indicators | Collaboration between countries | United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Australia are the leaders of four collaboration clusters | The largest number of collaborations take place between European countries |
Collaboration between authors | Crick, D., Loane, S., Kuivalainen, O., Saarenketo, S. and Zuchella, A. are the authors with more collaborations (co-authorship) | There are few collaborations between European and North American authors | |
Impact indicators | Amount of citations per paper | The most cited paper (919 citations) dates from 2001 and corresponds to Lu, J.W. and Beamish, P.W. | Only four papers have received more than 500 citations |
Amount of citations per institution | From the ten most productive institutions, the most cited one is University of Nottingham with 795 citations | The ten most productive institutions encompass 40% of citations | |
Amount of citations per country | The most cited country is United Kingdom with 3659 citations, however Australia possess the most average citation per articles with 30.59 | The most productive countries are not necessarily the most cited per article | |
Amount of citations per journal | The most cited journal is International Business Review with 1873 citations | The ten most productive journals encompass 74% of the total citations | |
Content indicators | Most frequently used keywords to characterize the articles | Co-word analysis allows the motor topics in this field to be detected | Four main themes characterize SME Internationalization research: International-entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur and Strategic-management |
Co-word analysis allows the basic/transversal topics in this field to be detected | Five major topics are basic and transversal for SME Internationalization research: International-performance, Exports, Emerging-economies, Entry-modes and Clusters |
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Casado-Belmonte, M.d.P.; Marín-Carrillo, G.M.; Terán-Yépez, E.; Capobianco-Uriarte, M.d.l.M. What Is Going on with the Research into the Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)? An Intellectual Structure Analysis into the State-of-the-Art (1990–2018). Publications 2020, 8, 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8010011
Casado-Belmonte MdP, Marín-Carrillo GM, Terán-Yépez E, Capobianco-Uriarte MdlM. What Is Going on with the Research into the Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)? An Intellectual Structure Analysis into the State-of-the-Art (1990–2018). Publications. 2020; 8(1):11. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8010011
Chicago/Turabian StyleCasado-Belmonte, María del Pilar, Gema María Marín-Carrillo, Eduardo Terán-Yépez, and María de las Mercedes Capobianco-Uriarte. 2020. "What Is Going on with the Research into the Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)? An Intellectual Structure Analysis into the State-of-the-Art (1990–2018)" Publications 8, no. 1: 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8010011