SMEs and international entrepreneurship: An institutional network perspective

• Institutional theory is helpful in understanding how SMEs’ knowledge of, access to, and utilization of institutional networks affects their IE activities.
• A gap was observed between the institutional network resources available and SMEs’ awareness of, and access to, them.
• An SME's use of institutional networks and institutional-based resources can be a “door opener” for its IE efforts.
• The effect of institutional network resources cannot be attributed to any specific phase of the internationalization process.

This study examines the influence of the use of institutional networks by SMEs in the context of international entrepreneurship (IE). It provides insights into SMEs’ awareness of, access to, and actual use of the resources available through institutional networks and whether these are inducements or deterrents for entrepreneurial activities in foreign markets. A qualitative research design employing a multiple case study approach was used to investigate five internationalized SMEs from Sweden and Finland. The findings suggest that institutional network relationships have a positive effect on the internationalization process of SMEs. However, the significance of this influence is continuous and intertwined in the different stages of the internationalization process. A novel contribution of this study is the use of institutional theory combined with the network perspective to explain how SMEs’ awareness of, and access to, institutional network resources affects their international entrepreneurial activities.