The international expansion of China's small and medium-sized business: Status today and future outlook

Purpose: The paper critically analyses the relevant literature on the international expansion of China’s small and medium-sized enterprises with the aim of highlighting the main topics analysed by scholars and identifying areas for future research.

Design: The paper reviews the works on the international growth of China’s SMEs published in selected peer-reviewed English-language journals vis-à-vis what has been published on Western SMEs. It does this by, first, studying the literature at both firm and industry levels and, second, by analysing the specific characteristics of small business from China along with the particularities of the Chinese business environment.

Findings: The paper highlights the need to deepen the understanding of the process leading to SMEs’ expansion beyond China’s borders to conclude with the identification of areas for future research.

Originality/value: The paper highlights the need to deepen the understanding of the process leading to SMEs' expansion beyond China's borders to conclude with the identification of areas for future research.