The anatomy of SME international resilience: empirical evidence from an emerging market

Purpose This study aims to explain how selected small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) internationalization factors move beyond their traditional role as foreign market entry drivers and become resilience-building mechanisms. It examines how these factors help SMEs sustain international operations, adapt to disruption and avoid fragile or short-lived internationalization trajectories. Design/methodology/approach A PRISMA-based systematic literature review analyzes 198 Scopus and Web of Science articles published between 2001 and 2025, using deductive content analysis to connect internationalization and resilience research. Findings The review identifies six dual-role factors, business model adaptability (BMA), liquidity, managerial traits, information and communications technology (ICT) adoption, innovation capacity and networks. It proposes a new categorization into resource-based, relational and strategic/operational domains and develops a framework integrating internationalization factors, dynamic capabilities and international resilience through direct, mediated and moderated pathways. Research limitations/implications A small sample limits generalizability and prevents causal inference, so the findings should be interpreted as associative and context-bound. Future research using larger, multi-country and longitudinal designs should test whether the identified dual-role drivers hold across sectors, crises and institutional environments. Practical implications The findings suggest that managers and policymakers should prioritize ICT and managerial capabilities that enhance BMA, so that internationalization drivers not only open doors to foreign markets but also help SMEs maintain a long-term presence abroad. Originality/value The study advances SME internationalization research by moving beyond traditional entry-focused explanations. It shows why and how the same factors that help SMEs enter international markets may become evolving meta-capabilities that support continuity, adaptation and resilient international presence under uncertainty.