Internationalization through social networks: A systematic review and future research agenda

Abstract

This paper provides a systematic review of 210 papers on social networks and firm internationalization published between 2010 and 2022. It presents a comprehensive analysis of how social networks influence firm internationalization, following the concept of “insidership”. We classify social networks into individual, organizational, and national levels, and link these network levels and their characteristics with internationalization behavior, degree, and performance. We find that social networks promote internationalization through resources, trust, knowledge, and capabilities but can also have negative effects. In addition, we integrate boundary conditions from individual, firm, and environmental levels. In particular, we show that few theories focus on the impact of decision makers’ psychological and cognitive mechanisms on firms’ internationalization through social networks. Additionally, limited studies pursue dynamic and comparative research designs, with few adopting quasi-experimental and longitudinal qualitative methods. Therefore, we call for more creativity in exploring managerial roles and strategic decisions in internationalization through extended social network syntheses and reflective methodologies.