Alex Rialp

Systematic review of immigrant entrepreneurship literature: previous findings and ways forward

Immigrant entrepreneurship is an important socio-economic phenomenon today. Many studies have been developed in academic arenas of different disciplines. This paper aims to present a systematic review of academic literature related to immigrant entrepreneurship. In doing so, two questions are addressed: what has been done in international immigrant entrepreneurship research? and what are the trends that marked this phenomenon in research arenas? For this purpose, 45 articles published in academic journals are examined based on their (a) objectives, (b) theoretical frameworks and (c) methodologies. This paper provides evidence that most papers on immigrant entrepreneurship have focused on the reality of the USA, followed by Europe and Oceania. Furthermore, the review has identified the individual level of analysis and the deductive perspective as a common trend. There is a shortage in theory-building and qualitative studies in this field of knowledge. On the basis of the review, several gaps in the literature are identified that need to be filled in future research in order to enlarge the scientific knowledge on immigrant entrepreneurship.Immigrant entrepreneurship is an important socio-economic phenomenon today. Many studies have been developed in academic arenas of different disciplines. This paper aims to present a systematic review of academic literature related to immigrant entrepreneurship. In doing so, two questions are addressed: what has been done in international immigrant entrepreneurship research? and what are the trends that marked this phenomenon in research arenas? For this purpose, 45 articles published in academic journals are examined based on their (a) objectives, (b) theoretical frameworks and (c) methodologies. This paper provides evidence that most papers on immigrant entrepreneurship have focused on the reality of the USA, followed by Europe and Oceania. Furthermore, the review has identified the individual level of analysis and the deductive perspective as a common trend. There is a shortage in theory-building and qualitative studies in this field of knowledge. On the basis of the review, several gaps in the literature are identified that need to be filled in future research in order to enlarge the scientific knowledge on immigrant entrepreneurship.

Exploring channel internalization among Spanish exporters

The internalizing of export operations inside the firm is examined with data from 2,264 Spanish exporters. An interpretive framework for understanding the channel integration decision is designed and tested. Results confirm that a higher proportion of firms decide to externalize their export marketing activities in the marketplace versus keeping them inside the firm. Additionally, some hypotheses related to the selection of the optimal level of channel integration in the international arena are also empirically tested. The results also suggest some potentially fruitful areas for future research.

Technological Innovation and Exports: Unpacking Their Reciprocal Causality

The authors aim to advance extant understanding of the dynamics of firms operating abroad by considering the effects of innovation (research-and-development intensity, product and process innovations) on exports (breadth and depth), and vice versa. The study analyzes a panel data set of 696 Spanish manufacturing firms during 1994–2005 using Tobit and logit regressions and the Granger test of causality to offer a more complete picture of this complex relationship. They find broad support for the notion that innovation and exports have a reciprocal causal relationship, although the findings are partly nuanced by positive but nonsignificant associations between product innovation and exports and between export depth and process innovation. Furthermore, both export and innovation processes Granger-cause each other, demonstrating that there is a double causal relationship.

Conceptual frameworks on SMEs' internationalization: Past, present and future trends of research

This study attempts to facilitate the future development of a more general theory relative to the nature of small business internationalization and provides a step toward a more holistic understanding of this process. More concretely, its general goal is to draw attention to this potential: the possibility of better examining this process - and developing a more accurate explanation of it - by encouraging future writers to consider the consolidated contributions of four major streams of research in the international business literature: FDI theories, the stage models, entry-mode research and the network approach. Some relevant conclusions and implications are derived from this holistic approach.

Drivers and strategies of international new ventures from a Central European transition economy

This paper contributes to SME internationalization theory by offering region-specific propositions on early internationalization of Central and Eastern European (CEE) firms. We suggest that special treatment of international new ventures from CEE transition economies is justified due to constraints faced by their founders, particularly not only limited financial resources but also relatively low human and social capital. We propose that some of the region-specific drivers which contribute to early internationalization involve domestic market entry barriers and arbitrage opportunities related to the higher purchasing power of consumers from developed economies. Additionally, we find that in order to overcome resource limitations, CEE international new ventures apply effectuation and bricolage to exploit controlled resources and flexibly adapt to the market situation.

Internationalisation and technological innovation: Empirical evidence on their mutual relationship

Broadly speaking, internationalisation means the entry to new-country markets. It may, therefore, be described as a process of innovation (Bilkey & Tesar, 1977; Andersen, 1993; Casson, 2000). Faced with increasing international competition, innovation has become a central focus in firms’ long-term strategies. Firms competing in global markets face the challenges and opportunities of change in markets and technologies. One important aspect within innovation management is the optimal integration of external knowledge, since innovation increasingly is derived from a network of companies interacting in a variety of ways (Veugelers & Cassiman, 1999).

The Impact of Social Networks on Perceptions of International Opportunities

The paper emphasizes the importance of social networks in the gestation of international new ventures, particularly through their impact on the perceptions of nascent entrepreneurs. Their contribution consists not only in providing new information to assist new venture founders in identifying international opportunities but, and perhaps more importantly, in assessing them. By modifying the way in which entrepreneurs perceive the feasibility and desirability of opportunities, networks trigger the enactment of international opportunities. Whereas opportunity evaluations by more experienced international entrepreneurs tend to be linked to their strong network ties, the international role models of novice entrepreneurs seem to be transformational.

International Marketing Research: Opportunities and Challenges in the 21st Century

According to a recent and interesting revision of advances in international marketing theory and practice, the international marketing literature has grown exponentially in recent years in order to offer sufficient support to corporate and public policy makers confronting todays hostile global business conditions (Katsikeas, 2003a). In fact, some of the most relevant academic journals in this field (Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, International Business Review, Advances in International Marketing, among others) can be considered highly stable and mature publications, with research articles covering a wide range of topics within the international marketing domain and usually authorized by leading contributors to other high-ranking marketing journals (DuBois & Reeb, 2000; Malhotra, Wu, & Whitelock, 2005).

Entrepreneurial orientation, environmental hostility and SME profitability: a contingency approach

This study investigates the effect of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on SME financial performance. The essay also proposes a contingency model to explore the moderating effects of environmental hostility on the relationship between EO and profitability. The study was conducted using a sample of 121 manufacturing SMEs in Spain. Results confirm the positive influence of EO on a firm’s profitability. More importantly, the impact of EO on SME profitability is higher when there is a fit between EO and the external environment.

How Do Information and Experience Play a Role in the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities? The Case of Latin-American Immigrants in Barcelona

In the vast literature of immigrant entrepreneurship, there are some approaches trying to explain this phenomenon. Therefore, little attention has been paid to the discovery process of entrepreneurial opportunities among immigrants; which represent an important milestone in the process of entrepreneurship. In this sense, this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge related to immigrant entrepreneurship, through a qualitative study on the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities by immigrants. An exploration is performed based on the pattern matching analysis, taking into account the two major approaches to explain the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities, “Alertness�? and “Systematical Search.�? Our sample consisted of eight cases of Latin-American immigrants; five are entrepreneurs and three are potential entrepreneurs. The results show Latin-American immigrants of our sample tend to search systematically for entrepreneurial opportunities, considering their prior knowledge such as experiences and information acquired in migrations periods.