IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jinten/v22y2024i1d10.1007_s10843-023-00344-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Micro-multinational enterprises in Malaysia: the role of entrepreneurial orientation and regulatory institutions

Author

Listed:
  • Tze Cheng Chew

    (Universiti Malaysia Sabah)

Abstract

The research on international new ventures, particularly born global enterprises, has consistently held a central position in the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While a surge of studies has focused on the accelerated internationalisation of SMEs, less attention has been given to their entry modes. This oversight is rooted in the traditional belief that SMEs, due to their small size, are best suited for exclusive concentration on exporting. Contrary to this notion, researchers advocate for the consideration of higher-commitment entry modes, such as licensing, franchising, and joint ventures, leading to the conceptualisation of ‘mMNEs’ to describe this evolving category of internationalised SMEs. Consequently, there is a call for future studies to challenge traditional perceptions of SMEs and explore the determinants of mMNEs. Addressing this research gap, this study aims to examine the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), encompassing innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking, as well as regulatory institutions on the likelihood of internationalised SMEs transitioning into mMNEs. Specifically, this study investigates two primary relationships: (1) the direct influence of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking on mMNEs and (2) the moderating role of regulatory institutions on the association between EO and mMNEs. Drawing on a survey of 253 Malaysian internationalised SMEs and employing logistic regression analysis, the findings indicate that proactiveness and a propensity for risk-taking facilitate the adoption of higher-commitment entry modes. Additionally, supportive regulatory institutions enhance the likelihood of SMEs with high proactiveness and risk-taking propensity becoming mMNEs. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of how both internal factors (EO) and external factors (regulatory institutions) play crucial roles in explaining mMNEs behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Tze Cheng Chew, 2024. "Micro-multinational enterprises in Malaysia: the role of entrepreneurial orientation and regulatory institutions," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 117-138, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jinten:v:22:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10843-023-00344-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10843-023-00344-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10843-023-00344-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10843-023-00344-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christian Felzensztein & Luciano Ciravegna & Paul Robson & José Ernesto Amorós, 2015. "Networks, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Internationalization Scope: Evidence from Chilean Small and Medium Enterprises," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(S1), pages 145-160, October.
    2. Sun, Sunny Li & Peng, Mike W. & Lee, Ruby P. & Tan, Weiqiang, 2015. "Institutional open access at home and outward internationalization," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 234-246.
    3. Leonidas C. Leonidou, 2004. "An Analysis of the Barriers Hindering Small Business Export Development," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 279-302, July.
    4. Peter W Liesch & Gary A Knight, 1999. "Information Internalization and Hurdle Rates in Small and Medium Enterprise Internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(2), pages 383-394, June.
    5. Marian V Jones & Nicole E Coviello, 2005. "Internationalisation: conceptualising an entrepreneurial process of behaviour in time," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 284-303, May.
    6. Laufs, Katharina & Schwens, Christian, 2014. "Foreign market entry mode choice of small and medium-sized enterprises: A systematic review and future research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1109-1126.
    7. Stoian, Maria-Cristina & Dimitratos, Pavlos & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella, 2018. "SME internationalization beyond exporting: A knowledge-based perspective across managers and advisers," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 768-779.
    8. Benjamin M. Oviatt & Patricia P. McDougall, 2005. "Defining International Entrepreneurship and Modeling the Speed of Internationalization," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(5), pages 537-553, September.
    9. Ji, Junzhe & Li, Nicolas & Liouka, Ioanna & Fletcher, Margaret & Tang, Yee Kwan & Slow, Jonathan, 2021. "“Where to” micromultinationals? A tribute to Professor Pavlos Dimitratos," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 404-409.
    10. Javalgi, Rajshekhar (Raj) G. & Todd, Patricia R., 2011. "Entrepreneurial orientation, management commitment, and human capital: The internationalization of SMEs in India," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(9), pages 1004-1010, September.
    11. Dai, Li & Maksimov, Vladislav & Gilbert, Brett Anitra & Fernhaber, Stephanie A., 2014. "Entrepreneurial orientation and international scope: The differential roles of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 511-524.
    12. Peter J. Buckley, 1989. "Foreign Direct Investment by Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: The Theoretical Background," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Multinational Enterprise, chapter 2, pages 24-45, Palgrave Macmillan.
    13. Jeffrey G. Covin & Dennis P. Slevin, 1989. "Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 75-87, January.
    14. William E. Baker & Amir Grinstein & Marcelo G. Perin, 2020. "The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Foreign Market Entry: the Roles of Marketing Program Adaptation, Cultural Distance, and Unanticipated Events," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 63-91, March.
    15. Maria‐cristina Stoian & Josep Rialp & Pavlos Dimitratos, 2017. "SME Networks and International Performance: Unveiling the Significance of Foreign Market Entry Mode," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(1), pages 128-148, January.
    16. John D. Mittelstaedt & George N. Harben & William A. Ward, 2003. "How Small Is Too Small? Firm Size as a Barrier to Exporting from the United States," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(1), pages 68-84, January.
    17. Estrin, Saul & Korosteleva, Julia & Mickiewicz, Tomasz, 2013. "Which institutions encourage entrepreneurial growth aspirations?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 564-580.
    18. Jeffrey G. Covin & Danny Miller, 2014. "International Entrepreneurial Orientation: Conceptual Considerations, Research Themes, Measurement Issues, and Future Research Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(1), pages 11-44, January.
    19. Coviello, Nicole E. & Jones, Marian V., 2004. "Methodological issues in international entrepreneurship research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 485-508, July.
    20. Dimitratos, Pavlos & Johnson, Jeffrey & Slow, Jonathan & Young, Stephen, 2003. "Micromultinationals:: New Types of Firms for the Global Competitive Landscape," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 164-174, April.
    21. Gary A Knight & Daekwan Kim, 2009. "International business competence and the contemporary firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(2), pages 255-273, February.
    22. Mogos Descotes, Raluca & Walliser, Björn & Holzmüller, Hartmut & Guo, Xiaoling, 2011. "Capturing institutional home country conditions for exporting SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1303-1310.
    23. Dimitratos, Pavlos & Amorós, José Ernesto & Etchebarne, María Soledad & Felzensztein, Christian, 2014. "Micro-multinational or not? International entrepreneurship, networking and learning effects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 908-915.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gerschewski, Stephan & Rose, Elizabeth L. & Lindsay, Valerie J., 2015. "Understanding the drivers of international performance for born global firms: An integrated perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 558-575.
    2. Krzysztof Wach, 2015. "Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Internationalisation Process: The Theoretical Foundations of International Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 3(2), pages 9-24.
    3. Gupta, Rakesh & Pandey, Ritesh & Sebastian, V.J., 2021. "International Entrepreneurial Orientation (IEO): A bibliometric overview of scholarly research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 74-88.
    4. Czinkota, Michael & Khan, Zaheer & Knight, Gary, 2021. "International business and the migrant-owned enterprise," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 657-669.
    5. Ipsmiller, Edith & Dikova, Desislava & Brouthers, Keith D., 2022. "Digital Internationalization of Traditional Firms: Virtual Presence and Entrepreneurial Orientation," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    6. Marina Dabić & Jane Maley & Leo-Paul Dana & Ivan Novak & Massimiliano M. Pellegrini & Andrea Caputo, 2020. "Pathways of SME internationalization: a bibliometric and systematic review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 705-725, October.
    7. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Fernando Úbeda, 2022. "Individual entrepreneurial orientation and performance: the mediating role of international entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 875-900, June.
    8. Petrou, Andreas P. & Hadjielias, Elias & Thanos, Ioannis C. & Dimitratos, Pavlos, 2020. "Strategic decision-making processes, international environmental munificence and the accelerated internationalization of SMEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    9. Riviere, Monica & Romero-Martínez, Ana M., 2021. "Network embeddedness, headquarters entrepreneurial orientation, and MNE international performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    10. Agnihotri, Arpita & Bhattacharya, Saurabh & Jafari-Sadeghi, Vahid, 2023. "Combatting global disruption through tertius iungens orientation of CEOs: A moderated-mediated mechanism," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    11. Nadia Zahoor & Yong Kyu Lew, 2022. "Sustaining superior international performance: Strategic orientations and dynamic capability of environmentally concerned small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1002-1017, March.
    12. Sushma Kumari & Vikrant Shirodkar & Steven McGuire, 2023. "Pre-Liberalization Foundations and the FDI-Based Internationalization of SMEs from Emerging Markets," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 641-671, August.
    13. Mitja Ruzzier & Evan J. Douglas & Maja Konečnik Ruzzier & Jana Hojnik, 2020. "International Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Intention to Internationalize," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-19, July.
    14. Krzysztof Wach & Agnieszka Głodowska & Marek Maciejewski, 2018. "Entrepreneurial Orientation, Knowledge Utilization and Internationalization of Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-23, December.
    15. Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Louis Brennan, 2021. "A review of methodological diversity within the domain of international entrepreneurship," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 256-299, June.
    16. Dzikowski, Piotr, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of born global firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 281-294.
    17. Ji, Junzhe & Li, Nicolas & Liouka, Ioanna & Fletcher, Margaret & Tang, Yee Kwan & Slow, Jonathan, 2021. "“Where to” micromultinationals? A tribute to Professor Pavlos Dimitratos," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 404-409.
    18. Maksimov, Vladislav & Luo, Yadong, 2021. "International springboard as an entrepreneurial act," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    19. Tobias Kollmann & Julia Christofor, 2014. "International entrepreneurship in the network economy: Internationalization propensity and the role of entrepreneurial orientation," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 43-66, March.
    20. Hollender, Lina & Zapkau, Florian B. & Schwens, Christian, 2017. "SME foreign market entry mode choice and foreign venture performance: The moderating effect of international experience and product adaptation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 250-263.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Micro-multinationals; SME internationalisation; Entrepreneurial orientation; Regulatory institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M10 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - General
    • M16 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - International Business Administration

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jinten:v:22:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10843-023-00344-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.