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During the last two decades, the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has called the attention of policymakers, practitioners, and scholars due to their role in the economic growth and job creation in their nations. However, due to the complexity and uncertainty of international environments, internationalization has become a high-risk strategy to be embraced. In contrast, flexibility is one of the largest recognized capabilities of SMEs which has been used by these firms to overcome their lack of resources and poor capabilities. This capability leads to a closer link to customers and suppliers allowing at the same time a faster response to both sides. In addition, SMEs need to adopt a network orientation to cope with the nowadays supply-chain competitive scenario. Hence, manufacturing SMEs require a sustainable competitive advantage to enhance their internationalization considering an integrative perspective. This paper addresses this gap by providing an integrative model to investigate the implementation of supply chain flexibility (SCF) to sustain SMEs internationalization by adopting a multi-disciplinary perspective. Three areas of study are included in this paper, i.e. SMEs internationalization, SCF, and logistics capabilities. The paper is among the first on providing an understanding of the relationships between these areas and their impact on manufacturing SMEs internationalization process. It also provides critical elements to support manufacturing SMEs internationalization in their decision-making process with respect to SCF as a source of sustainable competitive advantage.

This paper has the aim of analyzing the relationship of logistics capabilities and supply chain flexibility (SCF) as part of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) internationalization strategy through a review of relevant research in these areas. This review will constitute the foundation for developing an integrative conceptual framework to understand the relationship. An integrative literature review in internationalization approaches, SCF and logistics capabilities from 2006 through 2016 was conducted. The analysis of an extract from this literature review is presented to identify the key elements that contribute to the SMEs' flexibility as a strategy to achieve their internationalization goals. The role that logistics capabilities play in achieving SCF as part of SMEs internationalization strategies has not been analyzed in literature from an integrative conceptual perspective. Further, the areas of research were conducted mostly in large firms from developed markets. A multi-disciplinary approach is used in this research to address this gap. As such, this paper is the first on analyzing the relationship between the areas of interest. This constitutes the initial phase of building a theory on the relationship between SMEs internationalization, SCF, and logistics capabilities. Further research will be necessary to empirically test the conceptualized relationships in both developed and emerging markets. This paper also presents managerial implications. The relationships between the presented areas contribute to a better understanding of the influence of logistic capabilities regarding SMEs flexibility in a supply chain context. This will lead to improving the SMEs' innovation and logistics management while designing internationalization strategies.