Internationalization of the Curriculum (IoC) has proved essential to realize the potential of internationalization as a driver of quality in Higher Education. The broadening of topics, bibliographic ...materials and other resources that result from it improve the breadth and depth of the content, making it more comprehensive, updated, and relevant. Moreover, the Internationalization at Home (IaH) strand that seeks to mobilize the informal and the hidden curriculum to bring stay-at-home students an international experience similar to that of those going abroad widens access. However, both IoC and its IaH subset have centered mostly around individual disciplines. This article proposes an alternative view of IoC that focuses on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to reviewing the curriculum, in particular STEAM, including indigenous knowledge as it does not separate the arts and humanities from science (STEM). Using case studies and quoting instances of best practice, the article demonstrates that the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches advocated are better suited to pursue the learning outcomes sought by IoC.
•We analyze how the pace of internationalization is affected by knowledge and learning activities as firms begin to export.•We examine how types of knowledge acquisition and learning interact with ...one another.•We found evidence for significant knowledge-learning interaction effects on the pace of internationalization.•Analysis shows that the effects of congenital knowledge are moderated by the age of the firm at initial exporting activity.•Results show that the effects of vicarious learning and experiential learning are moderated by firms’ strategic intentions.
We analyze how knowledge, learning, and strategic intent shape export intensity during the period surrounding the initiation of export activities in small, independent firms. Our research is conducted on a sample of small firms started in Andalusia, a region characterized by a lower proportion of exporting firms. By examining the interplay among different forms of knowledge and learning we extend stage and international entrepreneurship models of the internationalization process. We find that in addition to the expected direct effects of learning, different forms of knowledge and learning interact to shape the pace of internationalization. Additionally, we find that pre-existing foreign knowledge influences export intensity in younger firms, but not in older ones; and, that the effects of vicarious learning and experiential learning on export intensity are conditioned by firms’ strategic intentions. We discuss the meaning of our results and suggest avenues for future study.
The unexpected cancelation of in-person academic activities – produced by the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 disease – resulted in a detriment to the immersive nature of students’ mobility ...experiences. The objective of this research was to conduct an exploratory and descriptive analysis of the outbound mobility experience of students at Universidad Nacional del Sur, in Argentina, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A proposal for a solution to the impossibility of students moving to other countries or universities was to continue mobility virtually. The methodology applied in this research was qualitative: students who participated in a student mobility program during 2020 and 2021 were surveyed and interviewed. Despite the challenges evidenced by the research, the results showed that students felt highly satisfied with their mobility experience. Virtual mobility is a promising option for those people who for various reasons cannot travel abroad but can benefit from the mobility experienced from home.
International business (IB) scholars’ over-reliance on a select few theories leaves our understanding of firm internationalization incomplete. The behavioral theory of the firm (BTF) can offer new ...insights and can be used to model a broad range of firm actions. We focus on the three basic BTF components: problemistic search, learning by doing, and vicarious learning. These components help us understand why firm behaviors are more dynamic and heterogeneous than other theories allow. BTF, with its emphasis on how firms assess performance according to aspiration levels, selectively learn and update routines, and selectively incorporate the learning of others, is better suited to examine the diversity and change increasingly observed in internationalization decisions. We explain why scholars should move beyond “dynamizing” static theories and show BTF’s applicability to behaviors involving change such as multi-mode market entries and market re-entries. BTF also helps examine the decision to internationalize in the first place, nascent firm internationalization, location choices, international market adaptation, and headquarter–subsidiary relationships. We encourage IB scholars to use theories that can handle the complexity increasingly associated with modern firm growth, and propose BTF as a promising starting point.
•We show how Chinese firms acquire knowledge by hiring returnees.•There is a positive relation between the choice of hiring returnees and FDI.•Individuals sitting in the most strategic positions ...determine FDI choices.•Returnees can offset inexperience of latecomer firms and drive their FDI.
This paper examines how Chinese firms acquire knowledge and experience in international markets by attracting returnees using an original firm level survey from Guangdong province. It finds that there is a strong and positive relation between a firm’s choice of hiring returnees and its propensity to embark in FDI. Moreover, it shows that not all returnees contribute equally to firms’ internationalization. It is mainly those individuals in the most strategic functions, such as management and sales to determine both the propensity and the level of overseas direct investment. Finally, it finds that the presence of returnees is particularly effective for less experienced firms since it can help reduce the time taken to build capabilities and provide direct access to the knowledge necessary to invest abroad.
In this paper, I reflect on the current state of critical internationalization studies, an area of study that problematizes the overwhelmingly positive and depoliticized approaches to ...internationalization in higher education. I note that, despite growing interest in this approach, there is a risk that critiques will circularly result in more of the same if we do not attend to the full complexity, uncertainty, and complicity involved in transforming internationalization. In an effort to continue this work, and clarify the distinctions between different approaches to critical internationalization studies, I offer two social cartographies: one of different theories of change in relation to internationalization, and one of different layers of intervention. Finally, I ask what kind of internationalization might be adequate for responding to today's many global challenges.
The development of technological knowledge of SMEs is increasing, and the dynamics in the global economy had a significant effect on SMEs. SMEs need to expand their market share to expand in ...international markets. This research examined the effects of brand awareness and perceived quality on the internationalization process of SMEs that were carried out on 367 SMEs in Madura. The research results indicated that the brand awareness variable had no significant effect on the internationalization process of SMEs. The significance value was more significant than 0.05, namely 0.079 > 0.05, and had a smaller tcount than ttable, namely 1.760 < 1.966. Meanwhile, the perceived quality variable had a significant effect on the internationalization process of SMEs because the significance value obtained was smaller than 0.05, namely 0.000 < 0.05, and had a greater tcount than ttable, namely 8.671 > 1.966. The variables of brand awareness and perceived quality simultaneously had a significant effect on the internationalization process of SMEs. Based on the results of the F-test on the comparison between Fcount > Ftable, the Fcount was 61.817, or more significant than Ftable, 3.01. The analysis results showed that the magnitude of the effects of brand awareness and perceived quality on the internationalization process of SMEs was only 24.9%. The remaining 75.1% might be affected by variables not mentioned in this research.
This study explores the relationship between exporting strategies, firm efficiency, and downsizing. Drawing on the resource-based view, we first test whether there is a link between export intensity ...and the propensity of a firm to downsize. Next, we examine the impact of direct/indirect exporting strategies as well as the interactive effects of efficiency and each exporting strategy on the propensity to downsize. We use a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms between 1993 and 2016. Our findings reveal a negative effect of a firm’s level of involvement in foreign markets via exports on the propensity to downsize. Our results also show that the propensity to downsize is lower in firms using a direct export strategy and in more efficient firms opting for this strategy. However, no support for a significant association between the propensity to downsize and the use of an indirect export strategy and efficiency is observed.
Drawing on the knowledge-based view and organizational learning theory, we develop and test a set of hypotheses to provide a first attempt at analyzing the effect of speed of internationalization on ...long-term performance. Using a panel-data sample of Spanish listed firms (1986–2010), we find that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between speed of internationalization and long-term performance. We also find that whereas technological knowledge steepens this relationship, the diversity of prior international experience flattens it. Our results contribute to the existing IB literature on the performance of FDI, cross-country knowledge transferability, and nonsequential entry.
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