Internationalization as interaction: a process perspective on internationalization from a small developing country

Despite their heavy dependence on international markets, small developing countries or small states have been underrepresented in the internationalization literature. Unlike developed or large developing countries, small states face dual constraints of relatively weak institutions and a narrow resource base along with an open market environment. A changing domestic environment in small states requires firms to adapt and a process approach was employed in order to examine sustained internationalization firms from Trinidad and Tobago (TT). Analysis of the findings indicates that changing economic circumstances result in varying domestic production and market resource availability. In response, firms from small states may engage in phased rather than staged patterns of activity that include accelerated, reverse, and inward internationalization. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.