Exploring the role of managerial and organizational capabilities for the inbound internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises

Constanza Bianchi and Maria-Cristina Stoian

Journal of Small Business Management, 2024, vol. 62, issue 2, 724-762

Abstract: This study investigates the inbound internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Inbound internationalization refers to a process of internationalization where firms attract foreign customers to their home market instead of entering foreign markets. While a plethora of studies have documented outward firm internationalization, knowledge of inbound internationalization is limited. We draw on the dynamic capabilities perspective and conduct qualitative research with owner-managers of tourism and hospitality SMEs. Our findings show that both managerial and organizational capabilities (networking, marketing, technology, and innovation) drive inbound internationalization. We contribute to the SME internationalization literature by investigating an underresearched phenomenon and by identifying the operational and dynamic capabilities that drive inbound internationalization. Furthermore, we add to the capability perspective in an international business context by showing that managerial and organizational capabilities complement each other and jointly influence inbound internationalization. Our study also contributes to the international business literature in a Latin American context.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00472778.2022.2082457 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ujbmxx:v:62:y:2024:i:2:p:724-762

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/ujbm20

DOI: 10.1080/00472778.2022.2082457

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Small Business Management is currently edited by Eric Liguori

More articles in Journal of Small Business Management from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().