A Theoretical Examination of SMEs Internationalisation in a Globalised Business Environment: An Eye on the Future

In the new global economy, internationalisation has become increasingly important to the competitiveness of enterprises of all sizes (Evers 2010). SMEs with a clear global strategy can take advantage of cross-border activities, which provide opportunities not only for revenue and growth, but also knowledge exchange and the enhancement of capabilities, thereby strengthening the firm's longer-term competitiveness. Muller et al. (2014) report that export-oriented SMEs show higher growth of turnover and employment than SMEs serving the domestic market only. Despite universal acceptance that internationalisation is vital, a myriad of internal and external barriers persist to impede SMEs' ability to internationalise their operations. Moreover, there is a dearth of data on the actual export performance of SMEs and the challenges and issues they face (Muller et al., 2014, p. 60). The purpose of this paper is to critically review and theoretically examine published research on SMEs internationalisation not only to identify knowledge gaps in the field, but also to provide a theoretical examination of SMEs internationalisation in a globalised business environment with an eye on the future. The paper commences with an introduction and explanation of the importance of an internationalisation strategy to modern businesses, then defining what is meant by internationalisation vis-à-vis globalisation. A similar differentiation between large and SMEs internationalisation is then given prior to critically synthesising pertinent theories that have been developed and/or implemented by previous researchers. Based upon this synthesis, theoretical models are evaluated and assessed critically to provide good grounds for future research in the field. Finally, the paper review the extant using under the lens of SMEs internationalisation from both developed and developing countries perspectives.