Nurgül Özbek

The purpose of this article is to explore how mimetic pressures affect an internationalizing small- and medium-sized enterprise's adoption of e-commerce in the retail business, and by so doing generating insights into the different available responses to such pressures. A single, qualitative case study research design is employed to conduct an in-depth analysis of a retail SME. The data shows evidence of mimetic pressures that are perceived by the retailer. A trajectory of organizational responses to these pressures are identified by examining the changes that the investigated retailer made in its organization. By probing deeper into retail SMEs' decisions to use e-commerce as a vehicle for international growth, this article contributes to extending the understanding of how internationalizing retail SMEs can respond to mimetic pressures and adopt e-commerce strategies that provide a fit with their business models. One empirical case provides limited possibilities for generalization. Further studies that can enhance the understanding of retailers' various responses to mimetic pressures of e-commerce in different contexts are therefore suggested.

Cross-border e-commerce can enable smaller firms to quickly reach many foreign markets. This article examines how effectual market creation affects the international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in cross-border e-commerce. Building upon effectuation theory, we suggest that firms can drive foreign market demand by creating new ways to interact and engage with customers in the digital space. Analysing a sample of 99 Swedish e-commerce SMEs, we find that effectual market creation has a positive effect on their international performance. We also find that this positive effect is enabled by insidership in international markets, illustrated by activities related to international marketing analytics and international networking. Through these findings, we contribute to theory development on the internationalisation of small digital firms.

This article critically analyzes public procurement of innovation (PPI) as an instance of using markets or market-like aspects as a means to resolve public concerns. It reports findings from a case of procuring radiation therapy equipment for a university hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. By extending a line of literature built on economic sociology as well as science and technology studies (STS), the study elaborates on public actors' efforts in framing markets to promote innovation. The case illustrates how the participating actors constructed the notion of innovativeness to be introduced into health care as means of addressing various public concerns. It also reveals the intended—and unintended— consequences of PPI as manifested in various actors' claims on the value of PPI realized in practice. The study suggests that it is extremely difficult to frame a market for the realization of innovation via procurement as a policy instrument because we cannot predict the ultimate impacts of devices and practices employed in such initiatives. By formulating a practice-based critique of PPI, our study invites important questions about the potentiality of such instruments for governing innovation without delimiting their consequences to the successor failure dichotomy as prescribed in predefined tools and strategies.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to create a model that compares the effects of product content differentiation and service content differentiation on small- and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) perceived importance of customer reference marketing in foreign markets. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical model is developed and tested through multiple regression and mediation analysis, on an effective sample of 188 Swedish SMEs. Findings The results show that foreign market business assignments characterized by differentiated services make companies relatively more dependent on relationship learning and customer reference marketing. By contrast, situations of differentiated product content correlate negatively with customer reference marketing. Practical implications Reference customers can function as vehicles for international expansion when marketing offerings are complex. The findings imply that in service settings, SMEs need to maintain learning regimes with foreign market customers to effectively use them as references to win new business. Originality/value The study applies a service perspective to explain the contingencies of customer reference marketing, particularly in international business settings. The study contributes to international small business literature and research focusing on service-firm internationalization by explaining the marketing mechanisms at play in the internationalization of SMEs. In so doing, the findings can enrich relationship and network perspectives of internationalization and add a missing link to studies on networking and internationalization.

There is an urgent need in the field of international entrepreneurship to elucidate how SMEs can pursue new opportunities in a digital international business environment. The purpose of this study is to examine, by using effectuation theory, the processes by which retail SMEs develop international e-commerce in foreign markets. This research is based upon qualitative data from three Swedish retail-SMEs. This study makes a theoretical contribution to international entrepreneurship research by providing more granular insights into the actual drivers of e-commerce internationalisation. In particular, this study illustrates how capabilities underlie the processes of international e-commerce development.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how market factors (pertaining to institutions, competition and resources) shape the international strategies of an online retailer. Design/methodology/approach A single qualitative case study research design is employed to conduct in-depth analyses of a Swedish internationalising small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the retail business. Findings The findings show that online retailers can use partnerships to tackle industry dynamics and break into foreign markets. This type of "piggy-back internationalisation" can be an effective strategy of handling foreign market dynamics in the entry phase: that is to say, the short term. Reliance upon relationships, however, may paradoxically inhibit retailers' abilities to stay competitive in the post-entry phase (i.e. the long term) since they become cut-off from the first-hand market learning. Research limitations/implications The authors provide propositions based upon the findings to support further research in the international marketing and international retailing literature. Practical implications The findings enhance the understanding of how electronic commerce affects SME internationalisation. They also generate new insights into the use of possible international expansion strategies for managers in retail SMEs. Originality/value: This study introduces a new theoretical perspective to build upon international retail research and contributes to the international retail literature with relevant insights into both advantages and disadvantages of using partnerships to overcome challenges related to international online retailing.