Cultural intelligence development in internationalising SMEs: experiential and social learning mechanisms for successful owner-managers

The aim of this paper is to measure the impact of experiential and social learning mechanisms on the creation of cultural intelligence in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) domain. Data gathered from 244 owner-managers of Italian SMEs involved in international business activities show that social learning mechanisms can support SMEs in developing individuals’ capabilities to function and manage in cultural diverse environments more effectively than experiential learning, since the acquisition of direct experience usually requires time, costs and risks that small ventures cannot always afford. The present paper extends prior research on global leaders’ learning mechanisms by deepening comprehension of the rather unexplored context of internationalising SMEs learning processes, thus filling the gap on how these firms can gain knowledge from international markets.