Context-specific micro-foundations and successful SME internationalisation in emerging markets: A mixed-method analysis of managerial resources and dynamic capabilities

Building on the resource-based view, this study aims to address the scant research on the context-specific micro-foundations that impact on internationalisation of SMEs in emerging markets. Therefore, the paper explores managerial resources and dynamic capabilities in three categories of international networking, vision, and experience and competence. In this regard, we employ a mixed-method analysis and focus on Iran as representative of a low supportive institutional context for SME internationalisation belongs to emerging markets. Hence, in qualitative analysis, we utilise multiple case study and conduct ten interviews, which led to the identification of fourteen important managerial resources and capabilities. This is followed by expert-based decision-making approaches, taking advantage of interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and Matrix-based Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC), which contributed to investigation the relative function of identified factors as well as proposing a conceptual framework for the inter- and cross-relationships among explored drivers in three targeted categories and provides theoretical and practical suggestions.