중소기업 국제화 연구의 지식구조에 관한 계량서지학적 분석

Unlike multinational corporations (MNCs), which primarily operate in the global market, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) typically concentrate their business activities on domestic markets due to constraints in scale and resources. However, advancements in technology driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and shifts in the global business environment have improved SMEs' access to international markets. Nevertheless, firm size significantly influences the breadth and depth of available resources and networks, making it particularly challenging for smaller SMEs to navigate and adapt to rapidly changing external conditions. To mitigate these limitations, SMEs often pursue internationalization by leveraging external networks. However, due to their relatively limited bargaining power and weaker negotiation capabilities, SMEs may find themselves compelled to accept the institutional and cultural conditions of foreign markets as given. The internationalization of SMEs is influenced not only by firm-specific characteristics but also by a variety of external factors. As such, a comprehensive examination of SME internationalization theories from past to present is essential for identifying future research directions. To this end, the present study conducts a bibliometric analysis, including co-occurrence and co-citation analyses, of SSCI-indexed research on SME internationalization published over the past two decades in the Web of Science database. Through this analysis, the study systematically elucidates the knowledge structure of SME internationalization, providing a concise yet comprehensive framework for future scholarly inquiry.