MSME competitiveness in small island economies: a comparative systematic review of the literature from the past 24 years

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to consolidate the extant literature on firm competitiveness in general and compare it to the literature related to micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) competitiveness generally and then specifically to literature on MSME competitiveness in small island economies (SIEs). The paper contrasts these three research threads to develop a research framework to guide the future MSME research agenda in small island economies. This systematic literature review uses the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) database for citation analysis to identify the most influential research, and the Ex Libris’ Primo Central Index (PCI) and EBSCO Caribbean Search database for small island-specific literature. The review identifies the research themes of most relevance to MSMEs in small island economies. The paper found that research on MSMEs competitiveness in small island economies should focus on the moderating role of country-level characteristics on the relationships between the sources of competitiveness such as, intellectual capital, human capital management, social capital, innovation, internationalization as well as strategy implementation; and firm competitiveness outcomes. The value of the paper is that it shows the differences in the competitiveness priorities of large firms versus MSMEs and small island MSMEs.