Was it Merely a Coincidence? Towards a Practice-Based Perspective on Early Internationalisation of SMEs
Was it Merely a Coincidence? Towards a Practice-Based Perspective on Early Internationalisation of SMEs

Summary/Abstract: Objective: The aim of this article is to analyse the relation between some aspects of reflexive actions and routinisation within the internationalisation process. The article provides a new insight into the phenomenon of early internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises. Research Design & Methods: The qualitative research offers an alternative approach to the problem of how enterprises explore foreign opportunities in the realms of daily performed activities. The research is based on the practice-based orientation. That perspective explores the concepts of everyday actions and practice in the realms of routine dynamics field of studies. Findings: The qualitative research provides a framework of the relation between various types of reflexive actions, and their routinisation, as well as the internationalisation of everyday practice. Implications & Recommendations: This study explores the practice-based perspective on IE and the early internationalisation process of textile and apparel enterprises. This work contributes to the deeper understanding of the early internationalisation process and it sheds some new light on its potential explanatory categories. The notion of daily activities may be perceived as important units of analysis in management. Contribution & Value Added: The analysis of everyday activities of early internationalisation of SMEs may comprise here a promising research area and therefore, a ‘theoretical bridge’ between the practice-based perspective and IE may develop.

• Details
• Contents