What is it about?
Can knowledge be regarded as a key driver of competitive advantage in SMEs’ internationalization? Bridging Resource-Based View (RBV) and International Entrepreneurship (IE) theories, this investigation explores the role of knowledge as a catalyst for the international insertion of Brazilian SMEs, bringing novel insights on the dynamics observed in an emerging economy.
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Why is it important?
This study advances international business research on three fronts: integrating resource-based-view and international entrepreurship theories to analyze knowledge-intensive small firms in a context of a transition economy; uncovering paradoxes such as mid-skilled workforces driving internationalization more effectively than high-skilled labor; and revealing the relevance of smart-imports as mechanisms to propel value-added exports.
Perspectives
Our findings collectively challenge the application of traditional models derived from developed economies and offer a new route toward a knowledge-centric paradigm for the emerging economies, where firm-specific knowledge assets, rather than macroeconomic or sectoral conditions, are the primary drivers of global expansion. Studies addressing the developed economies greatly diverge from the reality of the developing world, where the technological and entrepreneurial conditions are very contrasting for SMEs.
Antonio Marcon
Opensense Innovation
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Internationalization of knowledge-driven SMEs: entrepreneurial patterns and evidence from Brazil, Journal of Knowledge Management, November 2025, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/jkm-04-2025-0571.
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