The evolving direct-to-consumer retail model: A review and research agenda

The substantial growth of e-commerce sales, driven by digital advancements, has enticed brands to sell direct-to-consumers (DTC) online. Despite the growth of the DTC online retail model in practice, academic literature remains fragmented. This systematic review is timely as it meets the need for a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of DTC over two decades of research to 2023. A SPAR-4-SLR protocol combined with a Theory–Context–Methods (TCM) approach examines the extant literature through a marketing lens. An analysis of 81 articles reveals a need for consumer behavior theories to underpin research on the DTC retail model. We conclude the review by identifying areas for further development, such as the need for research on the technology-driven balance of power between brands, retailers, and consumers. Contextually, the authors highlight research opportunities on SME brands' internationalization and the DTC online luxury experience. Methodological directions include empirical qualitative studies and experiments on the emerging topics of technology-enabled retail services and the experiential e-commerce impact on customer experience. These future research undertakings will help us to better understand the DTC retail model.     

U.K. SMEs’ awareness,use, and perceptions of selected government export assistance programs: An investigation into the effect of the internationalization process

This study reports on an empirical investigation into U.K. managers’ behavior toward and perceptions about selected export assistance programs. Specifically, it investigates whether differences exist between managers of U.K. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various stages of internationalization in relation to their awareness and frequency of use of the programs, together with their perceptions about the timeliness, reliability, and availability of the assistance schemes. It provides a contribution to the knowledge in the areas of export management and public policy because despite the fact that a body of literature exists on the topics of both export assistance and the internationalization process of firms, there is a need to bring these two research topics together in the form of a single U.K. study to establish whether current export assistance procedures are suitable for managers from firms in different stages of export development. The rationale for such a study is that if managers of U.K. SMEs in different stages of the internationalization process differ in both their behavior toward and perceptions about government assistance programs, U.K. policymakers may need to reconsider the way in which services are provided to avoid wasting scarce resources.     

The Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Firms

This paper contributes to the existing research by integrating the notions of organizational learning and entrepreneurial orientation into the body of international entrepreneurship. Our primary framework combines learning theory and the new venture theory of internationalization to study the extent to which small and medium-sized companies engage in international activities. We found that the firms’ international learning effort and entrepreneurial orientation are positively associated with internationalization intent whereas domestic learning effort is negatively related with internationalization intent. Overall, our results suggest (1) that intensive knowledge renewal and exploitation regarding foreign markets and the internationalization process itself may increase internationalization by affecting the perceptions of opportunities offered by further international expansion, and (2) that firms with an entrepreneurial mindset may be more likely to develop a long-term, substantial presence in the international arena, compared to firms that are more reactive or conservative.     

What we know about anticonsumption: An attempt to nail jelly to the wall

Despite burgeoning academic interest in anticonsumption, a lack of definitional clarity and overlapping constructs beleaguer the pertinent literature, preventing research in the field from reaching its full potential. This paper aims to strengthen the foundations for advancing knowledge in this fragmented field by (a) undertaking a thorough systematic review of literature; (b) charting the scope of anticonsumption literature based on network analysis and attempting to delineate overlapping areas; (c) providing an integrated framework of anticonsumption research, including antecedents, moderators, and consequences; and (d) suggesting a set of specific research propositions that will enable the field to move forward. Toward these aims, we analyzed 120 anticonsumption papers revealed in the literature review, identifying a number of important anticonsumption-related topics that warrant further investigation. Moreover, we suggest a research framework which reveals antecedents, causal sequences, and consequences of anticonsumption. Finally, a research agenda based on this integrated framework indicates promising areas for future research.     

Small firm internationalization through experiential learning: The moderating role of socialization tactics

The importance of experiential knowledge for small firm internationalization has been emphasized in the process model of internationalization, the international new venture or born-global frameworks and the management characteristics perspective in the exporting literature. However, none examines in detail under what conditions experiential learning is more important for internationalization. We borrow insights from the socialization tactics literature to theorize how the context, content and social aspects of a foreign sojourn offer different opportunities for the acquisition of experiential knowledge to support the internationalization of small firms. We suggest that socialization tactics moderate the relationship between individual international experiential knowledge and small firm internationalization. We propose that the opportunities for international experiential learning are superior when the socialization context is individual and formal (rather than collective and non-formal), the socialization content is sequential and fixed (rather than random and variable) and when socialization involves serial and investiture (rather than disjunctive and divestiture) social aspects.     

The multinationality and performance relationship: Revisiting the literature and exploring the implications

The relationship between the degree of multinationality (M) and performance (P) of multinational enterprises (MNEs) is a central research question in the literatures of international business, management, strategy, and finance in the past 50 years. However, theoretical foundations and empirical findings are far from being in unison. Thus, it is necessary to conduct a critical review. We offer new insights by combining international business, accounting and finance perspectives in our review. We examine 160 articles in 43 scholarly journals and classic books published during the period 1960-2017. We use an inductive approach and a qualitative content analysis methodology. We review the extant literature and identify eight key inconsistencies, which may cause ambiguity in the findings. These include the deficiency of direct evidence to substantiate the arguments of benefits and costs of internationalization on performance, inherent limitations in the conceptualization and measurements of M, P, intangible assets, geographic research contexts and methodologies. We make eight recommendations for future research to address these inconsistencies.     

SME internationalization: How does the opportunity-based international entrepreneurial culture matter?

We employ the opportunity-based international entrepreneurial culture (IEC) comprehensive notion that draws upon the opportunity-based view (OBV). The OBV supports the idea that entrepreneurs mold the organizational behavior and characteristics of their firms to pursue opportunities abroad. We set out to explore possible attitudinal differences as regards exploitation of opportunities within firms in each of three internationalization dimensions that are previously identified in the literature, notably time to internationalization, country market presence and international mode. We perform eighteen case studies on high-performing internationalized small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in knowledge intensive sectors. The evidence refines the OBV as it manifests how three IEC characteristics (namely risk attitude, market orientation and networking propensity) matter for firms in the three internationalization dimensions. The study further adds to the international entrepreneurship literature that has until now myopically focused on international new ventures as if they were the sole opportunity-driven group of internationalized SMEs.     

Perceived resource deficiency and internationalization of small- and medium-sized firms

It is documented in the literature that resource deficiency constitutes a barrier to firms’ internationalization. However, small- and medium-sized firms' (SMEs) perceptual barriers to internationalization have received little attention. By highlighting the importance of managerial perceptions in strategic decisions and integrating the resource-based view and the technology acceptance model, this study examines the role of perceived resource deficiency in SMEs’ internationalization. The major finding of this study suggests that perceived resource deficiency in knowledge-based resources constitutes a major perceptual barrier to SMEs’ internationalization. Particularly, perceived resource deficiency in knowledge-based resources has more negative impact on internationalization than does that in other firm-specific resources.     

The Impact of the Change from Partial to Full Foreign Ownership on the Internationalization of Foreign Subsidiaries

SUMMARY

This paper aims to study how host country firms' internationalization has been impacted by their foreign owners' achievement of full ownership if the companies were not fully foreign-owned at first. It starts with a review of the existing traditional internationalization literature: the Uppsala model, the innovation-related internationalization models and the Finnish model. Then it reviews other research streams: born global, foreign direct investment (FDI) and network literature and the literature on subsidiary roles. A conceptual framework is developed. Then, after a methodology section, four Estonian casestwo from banking and two from the textiles industryare introduced. After the discussion of the results, some managerial and research implications are drawn.     

Why Don't We Use the Same Export Barrier Measurement Scale? An Empirical Analysis in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises

One of the most important issues addressed in research on international business, especially on SMEs, is why certain companies export more than others. A frequent explanation in the literature is that company directors and managers have different perceptions of obstacles or barriers to exporting. In that respect, in the last thirty years the literature on internationalization has studied export barriers without establishing a common classification and with no homogeneity in terms of either the number or types of existing barriers and their relative importance, nor a uniform approach to identify the most important barriers, the different types of barriers, or a scale in which they could be included. Therefore, we consider that there is a gap in the research on exporting and that it is necessary to establish a scale of exporting barriers that can be extrapolated to other studies of internationalization. Therefore, this paper seeks to review the main theoretical and empirical studies on export barriers, to propose an integrative classification of such barriers and to perform an empirical comparison of their perception so that the classification can be universally accepted and used in future studies on exports. Using a population of 2,590 companies (478 responses) and structural equations, we confirmed the four proposed dimensions or factors of export barriers, namely, knowledge, resources, procedure and exogenous barriers. The conclusions of this study offer a number of academic implications and contributions.     

The effects of scent on consumer behaviour

This article presents a systematic review of extant research on the effects of scent on consumer behaviour for readers of the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Although many articles have been published on this topic in recent years, there is a need for a comprehensive summary of up‐to‐date findings in this area of research. A systematic literature review is conducted with selected Chartered Association of Business Schools‐ranked journals in the fields of marketing and psychology, covering the period between 1980 and 2015. Thematic areas include the impact of scent on consumers’ cognitive and affective responses, attitudes and perceptions, as well as memory and behaviours. Relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of scent on these variables include affect, cognition, awareness and individual or environmental stimuli. Gaps for future research are identified and include the role of consumer awareness of scent and its influence on behaviour. Although this article provides a systematic review of the literature within the fields of psychology and marketing, it acknowledges that a large body of research regarding human responses to odours exists within other disciplinary fields such as neuroscience. The potential for, as well as the ethical caveats of, using scent stimuli for marketing purposes are also considered. This article makes a significant contribution to the consumer behaviour literature given its systematic article selection and review process, encompassing the most up‐to‐date research and focusing on all key thematic areas related to scent and consumption.     

Riding the waves of family firm internationalization: A systematic literature review,integrative framework,and research agenda

Despite the proliferation in research efforts, family firm (FF) internationalization scholarship suffers from fragmentation, theoretical limitations, and empirical indeterminacy, leaving important facets unexplored. This article’s purpose is to unpack how this body of research has evolved over time and interfaces international business (IB) theory. We conduct a systematic literature review of relevant theoretical and empirical studies covering the last 30 years of research and comprising 134 articles. Our study contributes to this corpus of knowledge by identifying and discussing four evolutionary waves of FF internationalization research. We further advance an integrative framework that offers a comprehensive understanding of the state-of-the-art as well as promising avenues for future research at the intersection of IB and FFs.     

The Internet and Internationalization of Smaller Manufacturing Enterprises

Abstract

One of the most frequently discussed topics in the current international business literature is the impact of the Internet on the internationalization of smaller manufacturing enterprises (SMEs). The study was carried out through a mail survey of the top executives of 125 Wisconsin firms. It examined 10 research hypotheses on internal and external factors which had been identified by previous research to influence the internationalization of SMEs through the Internet. Research findings conclude that the scope of internationalization of SMEs through the Internet is affected by internal factors, such as managements' perceptions of the effectiveness of their web sites as a marketing tool, lack of experience, and SMEs' potential usage of the Internet.     

Following their predecessors’ journey? A review of EMNE studies and avenues for interdisciplinary inquiry

In this review article we take stock of international business (IB) research on emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) over the past three decades. Our review covers 690 articles published in 64 high-impact peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2021 (inclusive). We first present bibliometric findings on some key patterns of this vast body of scholarly work. We then conduct content analysis to critically assess this literature and provide a multilevel synthesis of the existing knowledge base. To do so we propose a theoretical framework that highlights three dimensions – micro-foundations, organizational characteristics, and institutional environment – by which the distinction between EMNEs and their predecessors, namely multinational enterprises (MNEs) from advanced economies, is investigated. At each level, we seek to understand EMNEs’ convergence with and divergence from their predecessors in terms of their motives, strategies/approaches, and outcomes of internationalization. Through this process we identify opportunities to move EMNE research forward through interdisciplinary inquiry, and we propose several avenues for future research.     

Learning and knowledge in early internationalization research: Past accomplishments and future directions

This article provides an evaluative overview of international entrepreneurship literature, in which the issues of learning and knowledge feature as central components underlying the causes, processes, and outcomes of early internationalization. We rely on Huber's (1991) categorization of five knowledge acquisition types - experiential learning, vicarious learning, searching, grafting, and congenital learning - to organize our review and to guide our examination of the literature. We discuss convergent findings in terms of conceptual and empirical issues and set forth areas for future research.     

A systematic review of women's entrepreneurship and internationalization literature

There has been an increased interest in women's entrepreneurship research due to the changing sociocultural conditions in the global marketplace. Despite this trend, there is still a lack of understanding about the role women entrepreneurs play in the internationalization process of firms. The aim of this article is to systematically review the literature on women's entrepreneurship and internationalization by examining the trends in the research. A bibliometric analysis is conducted on articles in the Web of Science databases to understand which researchers are publishing the most and how they are related to other researchers in the field. In addition, a content analysis of the articles from the bibliometric analysis is conducted that reveals three main clusters from the research: (a) epistemological position and gender, (b) cultural and social reasons for the creation of businesses, and (c) motivations, business characteristics, and performance. From the bibliometric and content analysis, implications for policy makers and future research directions for women's entrepreneurship and internationalization patterns are stated.     

Development of a conceptual model to understand international social entrepreneurship and its application in the Ugandan context

While the concept of social entrepreneurship is relatively new, initiatives that employ entrepreneurial capacities to solve social problems have existed throughout history. In this paper, the factors explaining international social entrepreneurial behavior are investigated. The key argument is that behavioral potential, which is at the cognitive level, is influenced by an individual's perceptions toward social enterprise venturing. These perceptions could be related to feasibility, desirability, or propensity to act, among others. Personal, sociological, and environmental variables are linked to decision making through these perceptions. This research is based on literature review and case studies. The analysis indicates that individuals' perceptions or attitudes can explain aspects of their international social entrepreneurial potential. Areas for future research are discussed.     

Network complementaries in the international expansion of emerging market firms

Can domestic political capital be transferable to more or less similar institutional contexts abroad? Motivated by contradictory results in two streams of research, this study seeks to combine the insights from two theoretical arguments and conceptualize the role of domestic political ties in international expansion as a dual problem of securing key resources from home governments and looking for opportunities in foreign markets and matching resources to capture them. We adopt the notion of network complementarity to examine the complementarity effect of domestic political ties and foreign ties on international expansion. The implication is that EMNE research that concentrates on either looking for foreign opportunities or securing domestic resources, but not both, is likely to be incomplete when international expansion is being studied. Using a longitudinal panel dataset of Chinese international new ventures expanding to 105 foreign markets, we find a positive interactive effect of domestic political ties and foreign ties on Chinese MNEs’ internationalization. This positive interactive effect on internationalization is found to be stronger for expanding to developing host markets than to developed host markets. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on domestic political ties, the international expansion literature, the network complementarity literature, and the international entrepreneurship literature.     

Context in international business: Entrepreneurial internationalization from a distant small open economy

Context matters in International Business, but to what extent does it influence the content of knowledge? This study offers a systematic literature review on the internationalization of New Zealand firms. A geographically isolated small open economy (SMOPEC) with audacious trade aspirations, a strong domestic institutional environment, favorable attitude toward trade, and entrepreneurial small-to-medium size enterprises (SMEs), New Zealand provides an enlightening context to study internationalization. Using a sample of 95 studies, the review identifies antecedents, stimuli, capabilities, strategy, process and outcomes underpinning internationalizing New Zealand firms (INZFs). Context matters but not in the manner anticipated. On one hand research on the internationalization of New Zealand firms is largely congruent with extant knowledge, on the other the New Zealand context shapes uniquely, how and what scholars choose to research.