COURSE ASSIGNMENTThe underlying ambition of the course is to develop an understanding of the critical challengesand opportunities met by internationally growth aspiring firms. By drawing on recent insightsin International Entrepreneurship research, course participants will discuss and analyse factors central to sustainable international expansion of SMEs. In the report, students willdraw on central and critical issues explaining the rise of International Entrepreneurshipresearch. More specifically the reports should cover issues such as; the role of internationalopportunities and their characteristics as well as the role of time, temporality and speed ofSME internationalisation. Internal aspects such as internationalisation capabilities andcapability development, the role of planning in contrast to improvisation are analyzed inrelation to external facilitators such as the social capital and the business network of the firm.By developing an in-depth understanding of recent research developments in the field of firminternationalisation course participants will understand how and why resource constrainedand inexperienced SMEs can develop sustainable international growth strategiescompensating for their in liability of smallness. Emphasis will be given to newly started andinexperienced firms operating in developing industries and students will be trained for actingin key positions in such firms and in the innovation system.As a consequence, the main assignment in the course is to produce a report identifying andevaluating critical aspects and key determinants of the SME internationalisation process andto suggest how the innovation system can support the international expansion of SMEs. As aconsequence the report should seek to answer the research questions:A) What are the critical challenges and key determinants of the SME internationalisationprocess?B) What characterizes a sustainable international growth strategy for internationallygrowth aspiring SMEs?C) How can actors in the innovation system support the internationalisation of SMEs andwhich support activities are critical when designing internationalisation supportprograms for SMEs?To solve the assignment, each group needs to include two sections in their assignment. Thefirst part of the group assignment consists of individual cases authored by each team memberindividually and the second part is a joint group effort including case comparison, analysis andconclusion.
Individual assignmentFirst, each group member should identify, contact and interview representatives for a smallor medium sized enterprise with international sales. The manager should be interviewed andeach group member is responsible for creating a case story covering the critical elements ofthe SMEs international expansion. Prior to the interviews, the group needs to agree on a semi-structured interview guide allowing for subsequent analysis of the cases. Note that the semistructured interview guide need to cover the bulletpoints below, these bulletpoints alsocorresponds to the modules of the course. Once the group have agreed on the semi-structured interview guide, each group member is responsible for performing the interviewand create a case story. The individual report should describe the internationalization process:
A general introduction to the firm, its history, business model and main products/services. A general overview of the internationalisation process of the firm including a timelineand markets entered. The role of networks and social capital in the internationalisation of the firm. The role and consequences of speed in the internationalisation of the firm. The role of business planning and improvisation in the internationalisation of thefirm. The characteristics of international opportunities developed by the firm. A method section accounting for the interview conducted including time, place andinterviewee.
COURSE LITERATUREAgndal, Chetty and Wilson (2008) Social capital dynamics and foreign market entry.International Business Review. 17 (6): 663-675. Chetty,Ojala and Leppaho (2015). Effectuation and internationalization of entrepreneurial firms.European Journal of Marketing. 49 (9/10): 1436-1459.Chetty and Agndal (2007) Social capital and its influence on changes in internationalisationmode among SMEs. Journal of International Marketing. 15 (1): 1-29.Chetty and Campbell-Hunt (2004) A traditional versus born global approach tointernationalisation. Journal of International Marketing. 12 (1): 57-81.Galkina and Chetty (2015). Effectuation and networking of internationalizing SMEs.Management International Review. 55 (5): 647-676.Hilmersson, M., Johanson, M., Lundberg, H., and Papaioannou, S (2021) SerendipitousOpportunities, Entrepreneurial Logic, and Knowledge in Firm Internationalization.International Marketing Review. 38 (3)Hilmersson, M, and Johanson, M., (2020) Knowledge Acquisition Strategy, Speed OfCapability Development And Speed of SME Internationalisation. International Small BusinessJournal. Published online