This explorative study addresses the immigrant effect. Not only is the employer perspective considered, but employed immigrants also share their experiences. We report a multi-case comparative study of two immigrant-employing SMEs in Vasternorrland, a peripheral and sparsely populated region located in Mid Sweden, in northern Europe. The employment of immigrants reportedly had several advantages as well as disadvantages. Both employers and immigrant employees agreed that the immigrants' language and cultural competences reduced psychic distances between the company and the export market represented by the immigrant's country of origin. Employers reported a generally increased awareness of psychic distance among markets resulting from the employment of immigrants, though employing immigrants resulted in increased psychic distance within the companies. Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Internationalisation Immigrant effect Internationalisation knowledge language Sweden SME Employer perspective Psychic distance Export Cultural awareness Cultural competence Liability of outsidership

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