Too Much of a Good Thing? Employee Human Capital and the Accelerated Internationalization of Belgian Small and Medium-Sized Companies

In this chapter, we explore the role of employee general and specific human capital for the accelerated internationalization of Belgian small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs). We test our ideas using a unique dataset of all Belgian manufacturing SMEs which internationalized between 1998 and 2005 and followed a strategy of accelerated internationalization. Findings indicate a significant curvilinear (inverted U) association between general human capital (education) and the company’s scope of internationalization (number of foreign markets served), while specific human capital (training) had a significant effect only in the medium-low technology sector. Implications for theory, managerial practice, and public policy are discussed.