Disentangling the roles of international entrepreneurial orientation and networking in the internationalisation process of SESBs

We use the international entrepreneurial orientation construct and network support to understand the internationalisation process of subcontracting established small businesses. This is useful because if there is an abundant literature calling upon the variables independently, a gap subsists concerning their relative roles. In a multiple case study approach, our findings show that, if IEO leads on the long run to higher levels of export activity; it is at the expense of a slow and incremental process. We also find that if networking indeed leads to a more rapid export process, the levels of export activity remain modest and some firms even stop exporting.