Digitalization and internationalization of micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises: An overall conceptual process

Abstract

ABSTRACT The digital technologies that are emerging around the world are completely transforming the paradigms of our economies, societies, and firms, including the new reality of international trade that is becoming connected. Although there are many opportunities to be built, traditional theories of business internationalization do not specifically address the pervasive effects of digital technologies. This article aims to jointly study digitalization and firm internationalization and proposes an overall conceptual process that links these dimensions through entrepreneurial behaviors of firms and entrepreneurs. This process demonstrates how the use of digital technologies impacts entrepreneurial behaviors and how this might shape new opportunities to enhance the propensity for internationalization of firms. It illustrates that the effective use of digital technologies depends to a large extent on the entrepreneurial behaviors of firms (with an entrepreneurial orientation) and of entrepreneurs (with their self-efficacy). These results provide new relevant practical value to practitioners and policy makers.