What innovation and technology delivers to internationalization? The case of European and Central Asia regions

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the impact of technology and innovation on businesses’ internationalization process as well as the relationship between innovation and technology and internationalization.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on quantitative analysis of secondary data from 30 economies in Europe and Central Asia, extracted from the Enterprise Surveys – The World Bank database, using the multivariate statistical techniques of multiple linear regression and cluster analysis.

Findings

The results suggest that innovation and technology (I&T) mutually and positively influence the internationalization of firms. In this sense, innovative firms are more successful in competing internationally and exposure to alternative business contexts culminates in innovation. The results suggest a positive relationship between the percentage of firms that introduced a process innovation, the percentage of firms with websites and the businesses’ internationalization.

Originality/value

The originality of this research is based on the methodological approach that allowed the identification of the most significant variables for stimulating the internationalization of firms based on innovation and technology. Given the predominance of economies with higher I&T and internationalization in Europe, it is proposed as future research projects to ascertain the reasons for such a phenomenon.

Citation

Pereira, J., Correia, A., Braga, A., Alves, W., Ratten, V. and Braga, V. (2024), "What innovation and technology delivers to internationalization? The case of European and Central Asia regions", Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-07-2023-0276