Small Italian wine producers’ internationalization: The role of network relationships in the emergence of late starters

Local formal interpersonal networks and SMEs internationalisation: Empirical evidence from the UK

“…Contrary to previous studies (e.g. Ellis & Pecotich, 2001;Ojala, 2009;Francioni, Vissak & Musso, 2017), which found that foreign networks are significant, our results suggest that local networks are more effective for SMEs'…”

“…For practice, and in contrast to previous studies, which have emphasised the role of foreign networks in the internationalisation process of small and medium-sized firms (e.g. Ojala, 2009;Francioni et al, 2017), we suggest that SMEs should focus on home market relationships and networks (Zhang et al, 2012;Eberhard & Craig, 2013). In addition, we suggest that focusing on gaining advice/information from professionals and experts in the home market will benefit SMEs a great deal (Mole et al, 2016), and will provide knowledge and information, especially on matters related to their internationalisation.…”

The Future of Extension: A Network Emergence Perspective from the Case of the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services

“…The role of networks has also been examined from an internationalization perspective. Specifically, using a qualitative case study approach Francioni, Vissak, and Musso (2017) found "the relevance of personal network relationships as a factor stimulating and supporting international market development" (p. 18). The role of external actors beyond the individual were critical to expansion into new international markets.…”

Interpersonal Social Networks and Internationalization of Traditional SMEs

“…First, prior literature has noted that many hypotheses and frameworks about the role of social networks have been tested and verified in the field of “born global” firms (Fernhaber and Li ); however, even when these firms match the EU definition of an SME, their internationalization processes show features that seriously limit the extension of the results to other small firms—which are widely recognized as the backbone of the European economy (European Commission ). Therefore, recently scholars have called for more attention to born local/mature firms (Dominguez and Mayrhofer ; Francioni, Vissak, and Musso ). Second, network effects have been mainly assessed in high‐tech and knowledge‐intensive industries, whereas according to prior reviews, low‐tech and non‐knowledge‐intensive sectors have attracted less interest and the results achieved have been more fragmented (Fernhaber and Li ; Stoian, Rialp, and Dimitratos ).…”