Women entrepreneurship in the internationalization of SMEs: a bibliometric analysis for future research directions

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to systematically review papers on women’s entrepreneurship in the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by examining the research profile (i.e. publication trends, publishers, domain and quality of journals, methodologies and units of analysis and regional classifications), internationalization entry modes and the theories underpinning, key variables using AMO framework (i.e. antecedents, mediators, moderators and outcomes) and suggestions for potential future studies.Design/methodology/approachThis study used bibliometric analysis by selecting 62 relevant papers from 3,016 papers collected from the Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and EBSCO databases. Content analysis was conducted to identify key research issues and gaps, which were then mapped on an AMO framework to address potential future research.FindingsThis study found that the number of papers published during the period 1994–September 2022 fluctuated, indicating an increasing trend of women’s entrepreneurship research in the internationalization of SMEs being published in various reputable journals by well-known publishers. This study also found several alternatives of internationalization entry modes, although export is still the most widely used alternative. Various theories that underlie this research include internationalization theory, resource-based theory, feminist theory and international entrepreneurship. This study proposes a future research framework on women’s entrepreneurship in the internationalization of SMEs: AMO.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the intersection of gender-focused international business and entrepreneurship domains. This study proposes a conceptual model of women’s entrepreneurship in internationalization of SMEs by mapping the antecedents, mediators/moderators and outcomes and offers promising opportunities for future research directions.