Digitalisation and internationalisation of SMEs in emerging markets

Abstract

Digitalisation is one of the drivers for emergence of early internationalising firms. However, only limited empirical studies outline the mechanism of how these firms can benefit from digitalisation. To fill this gap, we explore how digitalisation benefits early internationalising SMEs and the determinants of digital orientation through case interviews of 20 SMEs from low and high tech industries in Malaysia. Our findings reveal the entrepreneur, product, firm, technology and market characteristics that determine the digital orientations of firms in the international market. Firms with the relevant characteristics of determinants could leverage digitalisation for early and rapid internationalisation. The paper also highlights six interesting topics worth further exploration in international entrepreneurship research.