Management International Review

Call for Papers for a Focused Issue

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING AND SUCCESS- VS. FAILURE-BASED LEARNING OF SMES

Guest Editors

Timothy M. Devinney, University of Leeds (UK)

Jeoung Yul Lee, Hongik University (South Korea)

Alfredo Jimenez, KEDGE Business School (France)

In recent decades small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have undertaken a huge volume of cross-border foreign direct investment (FDI). These entrepreneurial organizations created innovative products and services, entering various countries based on entrepreneurial capabilities linked to their home countries. In adapting for these new territories, SMEs were required to construct local networks within their host countries, and, in turn, link into global networks based on their technological, managerial, and marketing capabilities.

However, despite this golden era of SME’s internationalization, many SMEs both from developed and developing regions fail in their attempts to conquer overseas markets. One major reason explaining SME’s failure is the lack of significant advantages, particularly in terms of technological capabilities or local and global networking abilities. Similarly, another critical determinant is SMEs’ success- versus failure-based learning from both self and peer successes or failures. This learning pattern echoes Madsen and Desai (2010), who showed the importance of self and peer success or failure effects on organizational learning, specifically its emphasis of “failing to learn” versus “succeeding to learn.” Both self and vicarious success- versus failure-based learning by SMEs can interact with international networking within the global realm.

The goal of this Focused Issue is to motivate researchers into exploring knowledge regarding the creation and capture of entrepreneurial opportunities across borders via international networking, specifically interplaying with organizational learning based on self and vicarious success- versus failure-based learning. Examples of appropriate topics and research questions for this focused issue’s submissions include, but are not limited, to the following:

·               How can perspectives from the entrepreneurship, international business, and organizational theory unify and improve homogeneous versus heterogeneous constructs and operational definitions for the international networking and success- versus failure-learning of SMEs?

·               What mechanisms are included in the creation and capture of international networking opportunities across national borders by SMEs? 

·               How do the pursuit of international opportunities via international networking and its interplay with success- versus failure-based learning vary across SME types? 

·               How does self and vicarious learning by internationalized SMEs affect future successes and failures? How does this self and vicarious learning interplay with international networking by large MNEs versus SMEs?

We particularly welcome both conceptual and empirical research on the above themes regarding internationalized SMEs disciplines that have been under-represented to date. All authors who are invited to revise and resubmit their manuscripts are expected to present their papers at the Focused Issue Workshop hosted at Chongqing Technology & Business University, which will provide individual accommodations for two nights to one author from every paper invited to revise and resubmit after the first round, as well as cover all local workshop expenses (meals, etc.).

Submission Information

● All papers will be subject to double-blind peer review

● Authors should follow MIR guidelines: http://www.springer.com/business+%26+management/journal/11575

● Contributions should be submitted in English, in a Microsoft Word or compatible format via e-mail attachment to Jeoung Yul Lee (jeoungyul@hongik.ac.kr)

● Questions can be addressed to any of the co-editors: Timothy M. Devinney (T.Devinney@leeds.ac.uk), Jeoung Yul Lee (jeoungyul@hongik.ac.kr), or Alfredo Jimenez (alfredo.jimenez@kedgebs.com)

● Submission deadline: 10 January 2019 ● Special Issue Workshop, Chongqing, China: 20 August 2019

● Any further information can be found on the MIR website: http://www.springer.com/business+%26+management/journal/11575

Reference

Madsen, P. M., & Desai, V. (2010). Failing to learn? The effects of failure and success on organizational learning in the global orbital launch vehicle industry. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), 451–476.