Categorising the internationalisation of SMEs with social network analysis

Abstract

This paper analyses the internationalisation of SMEs highlighting the importance of social network analysis (SNA) to display the main categories involved in SME internationalisation research. Methodologically, the paper uses a systematic review of the literature as a departure point to select the main papers on the internationalisation of SMEs and uses SNA to illustrate the main categories that have been used by researchers to identify how sectoral studies (manufacturing vs. service firms and single vs. multiple industry) have evolved and to identify the geographical origins of the papers carried out on SME internationalisation. This study is useful for researchers and academic community alike as it embeds the three main categories found (internationalisation theories, international strategy and performance) using SNA methodology.