Knowledge Acquisition for the Internationalization of the Smaller Firm: Content and SourcesInternationalization process research emphasizes accumulated experience and networks as sources of knowledge for internationalization. Our understanding, however, as to what this knowledge is in practice for smaller firms, the challenges they face in acquiring it, and how they address those challenges is limited. Integrating organizational learning concepts with our theoretical understanding of the small firm internationalization process, we develop a new framework for understanding knowledge acquisition processes, which are examined with a case study of ten Scottish internationalizing firms. We find smaller firms may not have relevant experience or useful networks, and rely on sources rarely recognised before. Firms used recruitment, government advisors and consultants to acquire indirect experience. Recruitment is a source of market and technological knowledge and government advisors and consultants a source of internationalization knowledge. Accessing internal information is important for firms that have internationalized. Our integrated theoretical framework identifies knowledge content and sources that are critical for internationalization, but that may be absent.

Building on the literatures on asymmetric information and risk-taking, this paper applies conjoint experiments to investigate lending officers' probabilities of supporting credit to established or existing SMEs. Using a sample of 114 Swedish lending officers, we test hypotheses concerning how information on the borrowers ability to repay the loan; alignment of risk preferences; and risk sharing affect their willingness to grant credit. Results suggest that features that reduce the risk to the bank and shift the risk to the borrower have the largest impact. The paper highlights the interaction between factors that influence the credit decision.Implications for SMEs, banks and research are discussed.

The acquisition of relevant knowledge plays a critical role in the internationalization process. Yet a complete understanding of internationalization knowledge (IK) remains largely unexplored in the international marketing literature. The authors develop a framework that distinguishes three categories of IK necessary for internationalizing firms to gain market entry, localize strategies, and organize international enterprise procedures. Employing a longitudinal qualitative analysis often internationalizing firms, this study examines (1) why firms need these IK categories, (2) where they source them, and (3) at what stage of international growth they are needed. The authors conclude by addressing implications for practice and recommend that managers should source the specific IK needed before it becomes critical.

The ventures of Transnational Entrepreneurs (TEs) are a new business phenomenon, representing a fluid context in which established arrangements may be expected to change. In terms of one particular relationship, motivation has been found to be a key construct in International Entrepreneurship (IE) research, with two established features of motivation comprising entrepreneurial vision and its implementation. At the same time, nationality has been found to be a consistent influence on entrepreneurial orientation through the impact of culture. Employing qualitative case study methods, this paper investigates these relationships in the new context of the internationalisation of Chinese TEs socially embedded in their host and home countries. Subtle changes in established patterns of IE motivation are detected, and Chinese cultural influence may also be weakening to meet the environment of host countries.