The concept of internationalization and its relevance to small and medium service enterprises (SMSEs)

This paper challenges the narrow concept of internationalization widely used by international business researchers, that potentially excludes a growing array of different types of SMSEs that have the potential to become involved in the international exchange process. After reviewing the growing scope for different forms of international services exchange and how this tends to not be reflected in measurement, the paper proposes a widened and more dynamic view of the internationalization process SMSEs may pursue. The core argument is that a restricted view of the internationalization process underestimates services involved in this process and neglects opportunities for encouraging SMSEs to internationalize.