Transitions towards an Entrepreneurial Economy: A Case study based investigation of the SME Internationalization Process

This study seeks to make a theoretical contribution to the rapidly growing field of International Entrepreneurship by investigating the process of internationalization of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). A substantial portion of the extant literature has focused on the patterns, pace and intensity of internationalization of firms. Leonidous & Katsikeas (1996), Ellis & Pecotich (1998) and Coviello & McAuley (1999) have all previously published comprehensive reviews of the internationalization of firms. Bell, et al, (2003) emphasized the need for researchers to re-conceptualize their thinking on the internationalization process of smaller firms. Despite the advances that have been made in research on SME internationalization in recent years, there remains the need to conduct exploratory, in-depth analysis to generate qualitative insights that will further substantiate the process view of internationalization.