Internationalisation process and international performance of emerging countries small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): a conceptual model based on effectuation and causation approaches

Abstract

Business growth and performance are central topics in entrepreneurship research. Regarding the increased interest in entrepreneurship, new theoretical perspectives such as effectuation and causation have appeared to analyse entrepreneurial behaviour. The effectuation theory was introduced during this last decade to SMEs' internationalisation research, alongside with causation. In this work, we investigate the influence of entrepreneurs from emerging countries and their decision making logic on SMEs' international performance. We first aim to highlight the evolution and the development of SMEs internationalisation in scientific research. Also, we shed light on effectuation and causation in the international context and the interaction of these two decision making logics in emerging economies. Finally, we propose a conceptual model based on effectuation and causation to attempt a better understanding of SMEs' internationalisation in emerging countries, and how both behavioural logics have an impact on SMEs' international performance.