SPECIAL ISSUE: INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURS AND SMEs IN A TURBULENT WORLD: NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND NEW CHALLENGES

Guest Editors

Dr Sui Sui
Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), Canada

Dr Matthias Baum
University of Bayreuth, Germany

Dr Sylvia Hubner-Benz
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

Dr Dandan Li
Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, China

Dr Man Yang
Hanken School of Economics, Finland

Journal of Comparative International Management (JCIM) invites the submission of theoretical and
empirical studies that advance existing knowledge regarding the new opportunities and new
challenges faced by international entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This
special issue will accept conceptual or empirical contributions that address different management
topics in international entrepreneurship, such as strategy, marketing, finance, leadership, human
resource management, and encourages interdisciplinary submissions. We seek to publish studies on
entrepreneurs and SMEs operating across international borders or in internationally
underrepresented countries, or studying differences across countries, that contribute to the
advancement of entrepreneurship research by bringing newness and creativity to the field.
This special issue intends to advance the international perspective on entrepreneurs and SMEs given
the recent global turmoil and multiple disruptions going on at various levels and from different
angles. While we have a profound understanding of the international management of large and
established organizations (Asmussen, Hashai, & Delios, 2022; Bader, Froese, Cooke, & Schuster,
2022), our knowledge about entrepreneurs and SMEs internationalization still provides significant
white spots – particularly as it comes to challenges and opportunities connected with the COVID
pandemic (Zahra, 2021), new technologies, social movements, trends and market disruptions.
Moreover, due to a Western-centric perspective, several countries remain underrepresented,
and we lack knowledge on country differences (Barkema, Chen, George, Luo, & Tsui, 2015).
Particularly in startups and SMEs, where there is less restriction by corporate structure,
international differences, e.g., in culture (Gelfand, Nishii, & Raver, 2006; Hayton, George, &
Zahra, 2002; House et al., 2004: Stephan & Uhlaner, 2010) and stereotypes (Sczesny, Bosak, Neff, &
Schyns, 2004), are affecting management practices. Such differences play together with societal,
organizational as well as individual factors. Our aim is to shed light on such interplay to provide
an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of managing internationalization and international
differences in startups and SMEs affected by current trends and changes in the global landscape.

Topics include but are not limited to:
• Impact of Covid19 related market turbulence and disruptions on the international and
internationalization activity, strategy and performance of entrepreneurs and SMEs.
• Implication of diversity and inclusiveness (i.e., women, immigrants, racialized people, aging
and underrepresented genders etc.) for international entrepreneurs and SMEs.
• Implications of sustainability for international entrepreneurs and SMEs.
• Impact of digitalization (i.e., automation, robotics, big data, AI) for international
entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Submission Timeline
● Submission of abstracts: December 31, 2022.
● Submission of full papers deadline: June 30, 2023
● Notification of final acceptance: November 30, 2023
● Expected publication date: June 2024

Submission guidelines: see journal’s website at:
https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JCIM/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

References
Asmussen, C. G., Hashai, N., & Delios, A. (2022) The coevolution of international scope and
technological knowledge in MNCs. Journal of World Business, 57(1), 101285.

Bader, A. K., Froese, F. J., Cooke, F. L., & Schuster, T. (2022). Gender diversity management in
foreign subsidiaries: A comparative study in Germany and Japan. Journal of International
Management, 28(3), 100921.

Barkema, H. G., Chen, X. P., George, G., Luo, Y., & Tsui, A. S. (2015). West meets East: New
concepts and theories. Academy of Management Journal, 58(2), 460-479.

Gelfand, M. J., Nishii, L. H., & Raver, J. L. (2006). On the nature and importance of cultural
tightness-looseness. Journal of applied psychology, 91(6), 1225.

Hayton, J. C., George, G., & Zahra, S. A. (2002). National culture and entrepreneurship: A review
of behavioral research. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 26(4), 33-52.

House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (Eds.). (2004). Culture,
leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Sage publications.

Sczesny, S., Bosak, J., Neff, D., & Schyns, B. (2004). Gender stereotypes and the attribution of
leadership traits: A cross-cultural comparison. Sex roles, 51(11), 631-645.

Stephan, U., & Uhlaner, L. M. (2010). Performance-based vs socially supportive culture: A
cross-national study of descriptive norms and entrepreneurship. Journal of International Business
Studies, 41(8), 1347-1364.

Zahra, S. A. (2021). International entrepreneurship in the post Covid world. Journal of World
Business, 56(1), 101143.

Biographies of Guest Editors
Sui SUI is an Associate Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan
University (formerly Ryerson University). Her research focuses on understanding the internationalization of small businesses and entrepreneurs. She has published in the most prestigious Financial Times Top 50 academic journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and received numerous research grants and awards. She is serving as Associate Editor for the Journal of Comparative International Management, Multinational Business Review, Revista de Administração de Empresas, and Transnational Corporations Review, Editorial Reviewer Board Member for the Journal of World of Business, and Associate Member for the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Matthias BAUM is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Business Models and Director at the
Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the University of Bayreuth / Germany. His research
covers multiple levels of analysis and mainly focuses on the intersection between firm strategies,
digital affordances, entrepreneurship, internationalization and human resource management. Currently, Matthias Baum is particularly interested in the survival and learning of entrepreneurial firms in the international environment, how individuals, their emotions and cognitions shape organizational processes and how organizations can leverage their human resources for means of digitization. His scientific works have been published in journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of International Business Studies, Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Research and Journal of World Business among others.

Sylvia HUBNER-BENZ is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
since September 2020. Previously, she completed her doctorate at the Technical University of
Kaiserslautern, was a post-doc and project leader at the Technical University of Munich, and a
postdoctoral fellow at the National University of Singapore. Her research focuses on
entrepreneurship, leadership, national cultures, gender, and human-robot-interaction. She combines
different methodological approaches including qualitative studies, experiments, and field studies.
Her research has been published, e.g., in the Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice and Personnel
Psychology. She was awarded the “FGF Best Entrepreneurship Research Newcomer Award” and the
“Haaß-Promotionspeis”. Her research has been featured in the media, e.g., in Forbes and ThinkChina.

Dandan LI is an Associate Professor of Finance at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics,
China. She completed her doctorate in Economics at the University of Bath, UK. She is interested in
financial technology (Fintech), digital economy and digital currency (DCEP), and textual analysis
in finance. She has published 5 SSCI/CSSCI papers in International Review of Economics and Finance,
International Review of Financial Analysis, etc. She has presided over more than 10 provincial or
national research fund projects in China. The research results have won excellent achievements in
social science in Liaoning Province, “One billion talents” in Liaoning Province.

Man YANG is an Assistant Professor (tenure track) in Management and Organisation at Hanken School
of Economics in Finland since August 2019. She is the principal investigator of her Academy of
Finland funded postdoctoral project (2020-2023) “sustainable entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial
ecosystems”. Previously, Man obtained her doctoral degree at the University of Vaasa in Finland in
2017 and worked as a post-doc for Business Finland research project in 2018. Her research interests
include international entrepreneurship, sustainable entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial
marketing. She has published her work in leading journals such as Strategic Entrepreneurship
Journal, International Business Review, Journal of International Marketing, and Industrial
Marketing Management.