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This research seeks to extend earlier work by Scharf et al. (2001) that examined the challenges faced by SMEs along their path of internationalization. In particular, the internationalization process in transitional and developed economies is examined.

The central research methodology for the project uses a qualitative approach involving the in‐depth investigation of a “critical incident.” The incident explored is the firm's “worst nightmare” or “biggest challenge” in conducting international business. Respondents are asked to “tell the story” of the “critical incident”, its nature and consequences.

SME exporters in the transitional economy encountered export problems related to product quality acceptance and logistics management. In comparison, SME exporters in the developed economy faced issues such as country differences, general business risk, and logistics.

The research methodology provides both limitations and benefits. This type of in‐depth critical incident analysis lends itself to small sample sizes, in this paper 29 cases. The limitation is the generalizability of the findings because of the small sample. The benefit is that the methodology yields an in‐depth understanding of the challenges faced by SME exporters.

This paper extends earlier work examining challenges faced by SMEs by comparing the experiences of managers in two different economic environments and finding differences in their respective challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a country‐level consideration of the relationship between entrepreneurship, immigration and education. In contrast to studies that report on immigration and entrepreneurship in a region or single country, the authors seek to determine whether levels of immigration, and the level of education obtained by the immigrants, are predictive of levels of entrepreneurship activity. A common set of variables and data from developed countries are used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Using data on 21 OECD countries and five measures of entrepreneurship from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project, the authors assess the significance of immigration and education level on entrepreneurial activity using regression analysis.

The stock of immigrants in a country was found to be predictive of the proportion of that country's population involved in starting and managing a new business (early stage entrepreneurship), as well as the growth expectations held by those early‐stage entrepreneurs. Also, levels of high growth and high growth expectation entrepreneurship were predicted by the proportion of more highly‐educated immigrants.

This study provides national‐level comparative evidence linking entrepreneurial activity to immigration and to the level of education obtained by those immigrants, thereby adding to our understanding of immigration, education and entrepreneurship. The results have implications for the immigration policies of countries seeking to add to their economic base by encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation.

Purpose – This paper identifies skills necessary in order to succeed in Vietnam and proposes a training program to develop such skills. Design/methodology/approach – To determine necessary skills, 74 managers were interviewed using critical incident methodology to identify training needs. Critical incident approach asks respondents to describe the incident, its nature and consequences to provide context for understanding the managers’ problems. Findings – Local Vietnamese managers cited professional development (42 percent), basic business skills (29 percent), communication and cultural skills (18 percent) and legal understanding skills (11 percent) as most critical to succeed in international business. Foreign managers cited cultural understanding and awareness (34 percent), professional skills (23 percent), personal skills (20 percent), and interpersonal skills, language and communication skills. For Vietnamese managers, training includes leadership, problem solving, interpersonal skills, business basics, communication and culture. For expatriate managers, training presents the particular aspects of the local culture in a way that allows the foreign manager to become more effective through understanding and awareness. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this study and its training suggestions are based on findings from Vietnam. To be relevant outside Vietnam, the program may be adapted. Originality/value – This paper identifies the skills needed by Vietnamese and expatriate managers to be successful in international business. The findings and suggestions are valuable to managers and trainers involved in international business in Vietnam and Asia.

This study focuses on home country institutions as sources of variation in the level of foreign investment into India. Our findings support the idea that institutional voids found in India are less of a deterrent to investments from home countries with high levels of institutional development than from home countries with similar institutional voids. Overall, foreign investments in India are found to be significantly related to the strength of institutions within home countries. The levels of both approved and realized foreign direct investment (FDI) are strongly influenced by economic factors and home country regulative institutions, and weakly influenced by home country cognitive institutions. When considered separately, the cognitive institutions and regulative institutions within a given home country each significantly influence the level of approved/realized FDI into India. However, when considered jointly, only the strength of regulative institutions is predictive of FDI inflows.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on “Entrepreneurial migration: characteristics, causes and effects”.

Literature review.

Studies on immigrant entrepreneurship have become increasingly popular and the importance of social context and social connections has been recognized by scholars. However, research on their effects on immigrant entrepreneurship has been rather limited. This special issue explains the essential steps of the entrepreneurial process by immigrants (i.e. host country choice, entrepreneurial engagement, new venture creation, business network development and corporate political activities) and discusses the effects of immigrant entrepreneurs on their host countries.

The paper presents a review of literature on entrepreneurial migration and social impacts.

Although the issues related to the motivation of entrepreneurs have been widely studied, there is a less study focussing on the immigrant women’s entrepreneurial motivation under challenging environment such as COVID-19. Existing studies on entrepreneurs’ motivations mainly adapt the concepts that have often been developed in male-dominated paradigm. According to Shmailan (2016), male entrepreneurs focus on making sure costs are under control and are more profit driven. Women seek to make social contributions and want to ensure their quality. Some of the literature suggests that men are inclined to start businesses because of financial considerations and are more likely to be pulled into entrepreneurship. Conversely, women are likely to start business because of lifestyle issues and are more likely to be pushed into self-employment (Clain, 2000; Georgellis & Wall, 2005; Takahashi, Lourenço, Sander, & Souza, 2014).

This chapter focuses on the motivation of immigrant females in developed economies and what makes them continue especially during difficult times such as recent crisis ‘new normal’, COVID-19 pandemic. The study explores the challenges ethnic female entrepreneurs are facing and what motivated them to continue. The study also seeks their responds and strategies during challenging time such as the pandemic. The findings indicate that women often pursuit business opportunities to satisfy social needs, rather than focussing on traditional business outcomes such as growth or profit. The study found a stronger desire to contribute to a society, community and family’s needs among female founders in the UK . The immigrant female entrepreneurs have shown strong resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

The purpose of this research paper is to report about an investigation on the relationship between knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation to find out whether knowledge acquisition can predict knowledge creation. The study measures the concept of knowledge acquisition through the faculty use of knowledge acquisition tools and reading knowledge sources while measuring the concept of knowledge creation through the faculty use of knowledge creation tools and publishing knowledge sources.

The population of the study is faculty members in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The sample of the population consisted of 300 faculty members affiliated with 26 universities and colleges. Data was collected from the sample through questionnaire instrument. Stated hypotheses and Mathew’s theory of knowledge consumption–production correlation are tested and verified through correlation matrix and regression analysis.

Findings of the study revealed that the use of knowledge acquisition tools by faculty members has a positive effect on the use of knowledge creation tools and on publishing knowledge sources. Likewise, reading knowledge sources appeared to have a positive impact on the use of knowledge creation tools and publishing knowledge sources. Accordingly, the study confirmed the stated four hypotheses. Moreover, the results of the study supported the theory of knowledge consumption–production correlation and strongly confirmed the prediction of knowledge creation through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools for knowledge acquisition and reading knowledge sources.

Findings of the study appeal to the decision-makers and stakeholders of academic institutions to make effective investment in ICT facilities and knowledge sources to improve knowledge creation among faculty members.

Not many studies have investigated how knowledge acquisition can predict knowledge creation in the academic environment. This paper contributes to the understanding of the relationship between knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation in academic settings. Findings of the study can be an important reference for providing and improving knowledge sources, knowledge acquisition tools and knowledge creation tools in the academic environment.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that could help differentiate between successful and unsuccessful small- and medium-sized exporter firms.

A causal model of the exporting process was developed from the literature, from which a set of hypotheses was posed and a questionnaire was made. A sample of 37 small and medium exporter firms in Chile was subject to the questionnaire. From the data collected, the critical aspects that could help differentiate between successful and unsuccessful exporting organizations were statistically identified.

The following aspects are the ones that could allow the statistical differentiation of successful and unsuccessful exporter firms: incentives at the firm level for increasing output, improved operations planning, international quality assurance certification, large percentage of sales devoted to innovation, highly frequent innovations, qualified and innovative workers, local alliances for innovation, and the possession of strategic allies at destination

The results of this research can be useful for intending small and medium exporter firms in Chile, as well as for firms in other developing countries. The results are based on a rather small sample of exporting firms in Chile; therefore, the generalizability of the results cannot be assured

A detailed model of the exporting process of small and medium firm (SMF) was developed that is a contribution of the theoretical framework related to SMFs’ exports. The findings could be used by government agencies to offer better guidance to SMF intending to become exporters

Entrepreneurship policy is a vital component of any entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, the specific policy initiatives that have a greater impact on women's entrepreneurship remain unclear in many developing economies. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of entrepreneurship policies targeted at women’s entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Employing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this paper utilises and analyses secondary data collected by the World Bank's Women, Business, and the Law (WBL) from 1970 to 2020, encompassing 48 countries within SSA.

Through our analysis, we identified two configurations that sufficiently support women's entrepreneurship. First, a combination of gender-based policies focussing on enabling “access to credit” and “signing of contracts”; and second, a blend of policies supporting “signing of contracts”, “business registration”, and “opening a bank account”, represent significant antecedents to supporting women's entrepreneurship. These distinct pathways are crucial to fostering women’s entrepreneurship in the SSA region.

The study's findings indicate that the impact and effectiveness of entrepreneurship policies targeted at women entrepreneurs in developing economies depend on the effectiveness of other policies that are in place.

This study offers new insights into the intricate interrelationship between entrepreneurship policies and women’s entrepreneurship in developing countries by considering the interdependence and combinative value of gender-based policies that effectively support women’s entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa.

This article explores a complex aspect of Japanese industrial organization—the Japanese Corporate Grouping (JCG) commonly known as keiretsu or kigyo shudan. They are a blend of political‐financial, strategically‐coordinated, bank‐related, industrially‐linked, intermarket relationships which provide member companies with the support to vigorously pursue international market opportunities. The article draws on these relational dimensions to develop a framework for exploring the critical implications of the JCG for organization theory and international business strategy. To remain competitive, international managers must meet many strategic challenges posed by Group‐Form organizations.