Abstract
Considering the pressing interest of the academic community and the business world over the internationalization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (smes), this research is aimed to review the empirical literature about smes’ internationalization processes in the American continent, according to information included in the main academic databases. This study makes an in-depth analysis of 39 papers (out of a group of 329) published between 1999 and 2014, contributing to the construction of knowledge and the understanding of research in this field. This work allowed identifying patterns and trends, as well as concluding that smes’ internationalization research is USA-and-Canada-centered and is largely influenced by four main topics: internationalization theories, strategy, performance and international perspectives. According to the results, it is also concluded that research studies have mainly followed a quantitative approach. Conclusions and interpretations of opportunities for future research are important for both the academic community and the business world.

Abstract
This article analyzes the strategic bilateral bidding behavior in the Spanish electricity wholesale market (OMEL). The collection of data includes information regarding weekly averages of spot prices, the quantity bid in the wholesale market, the quantities purchased in the wholesale market and sold in the open market, and the behavior of conduct parameters for the period from January 2002 to April 2007 for the four largest firms of the Spanish electricity market: Endesa, Iberdrola, Unin Fenosa and Hidrocantabrico. This article employs the New Empirical Industrial Organization approach. The empirical analysis was based on the autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration and on the Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality tests to validate the standard version of the theoretical formulation of the standard Cournot model, and its theoretical extension, to encompass the hypothesis of the presence of bid interdependence for electricity quantities sold and bought in the Spanish electricity wholesale market. The results of cointegration and causality analysis reinforce the empirical results of the extended Cournot model with the inclusion of the two main bidding variables that solved the optimization problem of profit maximization for each of the four firms analyzed.

Abstract
Nascent entrepreneurship has long been studied from a variety of perspectives. A major stream of work by psychologists and sociologists suggests that nascent entrepreneurs have distinctive traits and competences. A second focus for research has been studying the environment in which nascent entrepreneurs operates. Recently, the identification and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities has emerged as a third focus. In this paper we will address the following questions: (1) what are the individual characteristics of those individuals who are attracted to becoming an entrepreneur? (2) What are the environmental factors contributing to new venture creation? (3) What are the steps in the creation process? We will attempt to answer these three questions by arguing that the central process of nascent entrepreneurship is centred on opportunity recognition, evaluation and exploitation, and influenced by contextual factors (e.g. external knowledge) and personal characteristics and competences (e.g. internal knowledge).

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyse Brazil's tourism destination image taking into account travel agents and tour operators' perspectives. This paper thus seeks to complement previous research carried out based on travellers' viewpoints. This research, more specifically, sought to analyse the antecedents of Brazil's overall image from the perspective of Portuguese travel intermediaries. For that cognitive image, affective image and marketing communications were analysed as antecedents of Brazil's overall image, and visitation influence was modelled as a mediator. Based on a questionnaire completed by 132 Portuguese travel agents and tour operators, the results show that the total (direct and indirect) effect of both cognitive image and marketing communications are more important than the total effect of affective image. Moreover, the visitation influence exerts no mediation at all between affective image and overall destination image, although there is a mild partial mediation effect involving the other two antecedents (cognitive image and marketing communications). (c) 2018 The Authors.

Abstract
The objective of this study is to identify, through motivating, inhibiting and facilitating factors, responses to institutional pressures on the relationship between biodiesel plants and family farming cooperatives via the Social Fuel Seal (SFS) in the South region of Brazil. This region is characterized by well-endowed family farming cooperatives. This paper adopts as theoretical lens the institutional theory. It is based on case studies involving qualitative research drawing results from four biodiesel plants with SFS certification and eight family farming cooperatives. The results indicate that the institutional biodiesel framework influenced the SFS-based relationships. This coercion mechanism led the plants to comply with the promotion of family farming via cooperatives. The plants seek legal legitimacy and opt to accept institutional pressures, primarily due to the guaranteed sale of all biodiesel produced via government sponsored auctions. Cooperatives are attracted by the receipt of the social bonus, seen as a prime motivating factor, which can be interpreted as an informal coercive pressure. Considering the context in which the plants and cooperatives are inserted, the SFS promoted changes in the sale of raw materials. It was also found that cooperatives facilitating factors are inversely related with plants inhibiting factors.

Abstract
This paper analyses the internationalisation of SMEs highlighting the importance of social network analysis (SNA) to display the main categories involved in SME internationalisation research. Methodologically, the paper uses a systematic review of the literature as a departure point to select the main papers on the internationalisation of SMEs and uses SNA to illustrate the main categories that have been used by researchers to identify how sectoral studies (manufacturing vs. service firms and single vs. multiple industry) have evolved and to identify the geographical origins of the papers carried out on SME internationalisation. This study is useful for researchers and academic community alike as it embeds the three main categories found (internationalisation theories, international strategy and performance) using SNA methodology.