New Frontiers in Latin American Entrepreneurship and SME Internationalization: Research and Practice

Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración (ARLA) announces the forthcoming publication of a special issue, “New Frontiers in Latin American Entrepreneurship and SME Internationalization: Research and Practice” in association with the Global Entrepreneurship Development Centre (GEDC) at Kingston University London, UK. The GEDC is a global community on entrepreneurship research. It is the mission of the GEDC to raise levels of knowledge, theory and practice on entrepreneurship worldwide through the promotion of research.

Guest edited by Christian Felzensztein, Professor of International Entrepreneurship & Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Development Centre (GEDC) at Kingston University London, and Sascha Fuerst, Associate Professor of International Business at Universidad EAFIT Colombia.

About the GEDC Conference

Members of the GEDC are involved in joint entrepreneurship research programs, joint PhD workshops and conferences, faculty exchanges and cooperation. The theme for this first conference is New Frontiers in International Entrepreneurship: Research and Practice to be held at Kingston Business School, London, UK on 5-7 October 2016.

The intensive, two-day conference will serve as a platform for the GEDC members to network and discuss the further development of new theories and methodologies for a better understanding of internationalizing entrepreneurial firms facing new internationalization challenges. Only unpublished papers are invited for presentation in the competitive sessions.

More information at: http://business.kingston.ac.uk/research/research-centres/GEDC

Topic of interest

We know that both international networks and entrepreneurial orientation actively support the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America (Felzensztein et al. 2015; Fuerst & Zettinig 2015). These two topics are important and still much disputed aspects of firm internationalization (Dimitratos et al. 2010, 2014). Understanding them can provide important insights for entrepreneurs that are choosing their internationalization strategies as well as for the institutions that may support them, such as export promotion agencies and trade associations. In some emerging economies, like those in the Latin American context, there is a tendency to provide incentives to openness to new international markets and to foster the SMEs’ internationalization (Felzensztein et al. 2014; Furst 2010). However, the region shows very different faces—large internal market economies (e.g., Brazil and Mexico) contrast with small but internationally competitive markets like Chile. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor GEM 2015, the most remarkable cases in Latin America are Chile and Colombia with a large percentages of entrepreneurs (more than 80%) but only a limited degree of international orientation. These examples show that most of the entrepreneurs in the region do not show a strong orientation to sell their products or services to customers in other countries, or even in other geographical regions outside South America (Amoros et al. 2015; Felzensztein et al. 2015). From this perspective, it is interesting to explore, analyze, and learn about new results from research related to entrepreneurship and SME internationalization in Latin America.

Representative questions

We encourage contributions that provide new insights into entrepreneurship and SME internationalization in the context of Latin America. We welcome conceptual and empirical research and review articles able to expand our current understanding about the phenomenon. Different methodological approaches are welcome. These can be related to delivering new insights into the antecedents and outcomes of internationalization or the internationalization process per se. We also invite case studies for teaching purpose that have the potential to enrich our understanding about entrepreneurship and SME internationalization in Latin America.

The topics to be covered by this call for papers include, but are not limited to:

•          The role or impact of the entrepreneur for internationalization.
•          The role of learning and knowledge for internationalization.
•          The role or impact of internal resources, networks, and strategies for internationalization.
•          The role or impact of the institutional environment for internationalization.
•          Entrepreneurial ecosystems and its role or impact on internationalization.
•          The role or impact of public policies for internationalization.
•          Case studies for teaching purposes that contribute insights into the process of entrepreneurial internationalization.

Submission Process & Guidelines

Submissions to ARLA are made using Scholar-One Manuscripts, the online submission and peer review system. Registration and access is available at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/arla

Interested authors must indicate the special issue on New Frontiers in Latin American Entrepreneurship and SME Internationalization: Research and Practice.

Full information and guidance on using Scholar-One Manuscripts is available at the Emerald Scholar-One Manuscripts Support Centre: http://msc.emeraldinsight.com

Author guidelines: http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=arla

Submission deadline: December 1st, 2016

References

Amoros, J.E, Ciravegna, L., Etchebarne, M.S, Felzensztein, C., Haar, J. (2015) International entrepreneurship in Latin America: Lessons from theory and practice. In Newburry, W., Gonzalez-Perez, M.A. (Eds), International business in Latin America: Innovation, geography and internationalization, (pp. 57-82). Houndmills, Basingstoke Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Dimitratos, P., Amoros, J.E., Etchebarne, M.S., Felzensztein, C. (2014) Micro-multinational or not? International entrepreneurship, networking and learning effects. Journal of Business Research, 67(5): 908–915

Dimitratos, P., Plakoyiannaki, E., Pitsoulaki, A., Tüselmann, H.J. (2010) The global smaller firm in international entrepreneurship. International Business Review, 19(6): 589–606

Felzensztein, C., Ciravegna, L., Robson, P., Amorós, J.E. (2015) Networks, entrepreneurial orientation, and internationalization scope: Evidence from Chilean small and medium enterprises. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(S1): 145–160

Felzensztein, C., Stringer, C., Benson-Rea, M., Freeman, S. (2014) International marketing strategies in industrial clusters: Insights from the Southern Hemisphere. Journal of Business Research, 67(5): 837–846

Fuerst, S., Zettinig, P. (2015) Knowledge creation dynamics within the international new venture. European Business Review, 27(2):182-213

Furst, S. (2010) Domestic SMEs in the television global value chain: The case of Caracol in Colombia. In UNCTAD (Ed.), Integrating developing countries’ SMEs into global value chains, (pp. 85-98). New York and Geneva: United Nations.