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Article
Publication date: 2 March 2010

Qingxin Lan and Songxu Wu

The purpose of this paper is to develop a reliable and valid understanding of entrepreneurship and examine the relationships between small and medium‐sized Chinese manufacturing…

2276

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a reliable and valid understanding of entrepreneurship and examine the relationships between small and medium‐sized Chinese manufacturing enterprises, the intensity of their entrepreneurial orientation and the degree of their internationalization. In addition, it examines whether entrepreneurial orientation would affect enterprises' internationalization strategies and their success.

Design/methodology/approach

The seven‐step procedure for scale development is used and survey data have been utilized to conduct statistical analysis.

Findings

The paper finds that entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to the degree of internationalization, particularly amongst the small and medium‐sized Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The international experiences of enterprises have significant importance and positively affect the degree of their internationalization. In addition, the degree of their success depends greatly on their attitudes towards risk taking, their ability to diversify internationally and successfully compete with those already established in the market.

Originality/value

A lot of studies have been conducted on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation. However, few people have ever studied the relation between the degree of entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization. Empirical studies on the correlations between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance are not abundant in China. Furthermore, very few researches on the correlations between entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization have been conducted. The research presented in this paper is intended to bridge this gap. Through empirical analyses of their relationships, this paper shows how entrepreneurial strategies can stimulate competitive advantages and drive forward the international developments of the Chinese enterprises, particularly the small and medium‐sized.

Details

Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-1396

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2001

Valerie Anderson, Grahame Boocock and Stuart Graham

This paper is concerned with the learning needs of managers in SMEs that seek to become progressively international. A particular focus of attention is the informal learning…

1418

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the learning needs of managers in SMEs that seek to become progressively international. A particular focus of attention is the informal learning practices that occur within the economic and social networks utilised by managers in this sector. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection, the paper investigates the challenges perceived by managers engaged (or seeking to engage) in international activity. The results suggest three main areas of challenge: first, the early “pre‐internationalisation” stage, when decisions about “whether”, “where” or “how” to internationalise are taken; secondly, the development of longer‐term planning processes and business systems to cope with the consequences of the initial internationalisation decision; thirdly, the challenge of regulatory issues and the need to secure payment and manage foreign intermediaries. Further areas of learning need, which depend on the significance of international business for the firm, are also indicated. Existing structures, cultures and approaches to management can be maintained for many SMEs that undertake some limited international activity. Where international business is a more important factor, however, managers need to develop cultural appreciation and empathy to underpin their expertise and consolidate their market position. Indeed, sustained international development may require a significant reorienting of the business, underpinned by management and organisational learning to develop an appropriate international “mind‐set” that supports the effective development of relationships with stakeholders in different countries.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2012

Christian Keen and Hamid Etemad

The main objective of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of high growth and rapid internationalization characteristics in terms of: empirically characterizing growth…

2249

Abstract

Purpose

The main objective of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of high growth and rapid internationalization characteristics in terms of: empirically characterizing growth deriving the profile of high‐growth enterprises, exploring influential factors in high‐growth, pointing out the factors that stimulate internationalization, presenting the combined influence of these factors in both the high‐growth and early internationalizing enterprises, and formulating research‐based policy recommendation for longer and higher growth rates and for decreasing the chances of demise in such younger firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have built a longitudinal sample of more than 1,140 micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises that have grown at exceptionally high rates for at least five years at the earlier stages of their life‐cycle, and even from inception in some cases. The data‐base's origin is a popular Canadian business publication, the Canadian Business Magazine, which annually identifies and ranks growing firms in order to publish an annual list called “Profit 100: Canada's 200 fastest‐growing companies”.

Findings

The findings of this analysis point to a rich population of high‐growth enterprises with diverse ages, locations, sizes and revenues that manage to achieve high domestic and international growth for much longer and in ways not explained by the extant literature across time and industries.

Research limitations/implications

This research carries the limitations of secondary data. In spite of its richness in terms of the high growth rates, annual lists offer a limited number of attributes per firm. It would be highly recommendable to use case studies in future research and broadly based surveys are necessary for deeper understanding of both the high and rapid growth and internationalization as well as the influential factors, including the internal characteristics of its agents, especially the management.

Practical implications

This research indicates that rapid growing enterprises (RGEs) and rapid internationalizing enterprises (RIEs) are distinctive firms and are primarily small and medium‐sized enterprises. Although the relative frequency of the appearance of various firm size‐categories varies over time, RGEs are found across all the size and age categories. Although their total number as a proportion of all continuing firms in the economy is small, they are among the highly prominent and contributing corporate citizens.

Social implications

This topic deserves the attention of scholars for the remarkable potential it offers to uncover the puzzle of growth, which is a time‐dependent phenomenon. HGEs attain higher growths in shorter times; thus requiring a relatively shorter tracing of the growing firms. The topic also deserves the special attention of policy makers as HGEs generate employment, income, social benefits, taxes and wealth at much higher and faster rates than an average growing firm.

Originality/value

The attractive features of HGEs' and RIEs' high‐growth phenomenon compelled the authors to explore the topic in more depth than initially intended. By examining rapidly‐growing smaller and younger enterprises, this study covers a wide gap in the extant literature of growth pertaining to the internationalization of smaller firms and thereby contributes the interaction of the two fields.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 50 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2021

The Nguyen Huynh

The aim of this article is to investigate the determinants of the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets: evidence from Vietnam.

1346

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this article is to investigate the determinants of the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets: evidence from Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

This article relies on the resource-based view to examine the factors affecting the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets. The method employed in the research is the generalized method of moments for testing hypotheses of data collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam in the period of 2013–2016.

Findings

The results show that factors such as the intensity of capital investment, age and size of the firm, labor productivity, foreign ownership, location, cost management effectiveness and export activities have a positive effect on the performance of Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises, while revenue growth rate, fixed assets and financial leverage tend to hinder their performance. This has brought important messages that the input markets and the business environment in emerging markets like Vietnam have not yet stimulated well-economic activities.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on a topic that has not been fully explored in small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets in general, and Vietnam in particular. Specifically, small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets reconfigure available resources and strengthen internal capabilities to overcome barriers of the shortages of strategic, rare and irreplaceable resources in order to improve their performance. This is a unique contribution to the existing literature and highlights the original value of this article.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 71 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

Sylvie Chetty and Colin Campbell‐Hunt

The internationalisation of small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is considered in the context of the overall configuration of strategy in these firms. This paper is based on…

13788

Abstract

The internationalisation of small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is considered in the context of the overall configuration of strategy in these firms. This paper is based on in‐depth case studies of the internationalisation path of ten small‐ to medium‐sized manufacturing firms in New Zealand. Two distinct paths are identified, one of global, the other of regional scope. These are argued to be the product of two distinct configurations of strategy, requiring different choices in product and market scope, mode of market development, and location of manufacturing. The patterns of internationalisation produced by these configurations are in some respects at variance with the predictions of stages models of internationalisation derived from larger enterprises and economies. The influence of these configurations and the characteristics of SMEs in particular those of the decision maker on the pace of internationalisation are also considered. A conceptual model is developed from the findings of this study by integrating internationalisation theories and SME characteristics.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 37 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 November 2019

Luis Enrique Ibarra-Morales, Monica Blanco-Jimenez and Beatriz Alejandra Hurtado-Bringas

The purpose of this paper is to boost the internationalization of companies by implementing key factors that will help them to increase their exports in a context of an emerging…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to boost the internationalization of companies by implementing key factors that will help them to increase their exports in a context of an emerging country such as Mexico, where very few small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) achieve internationalization.

Design/methodology/approach

According to different theories on the internationalization of companies, five independent variables were designed to measure their effect on the export performance using a multiple regression model on a sample of 95 Mexican industrial SMEs. In this context, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the product price, product quality, installed capacity, innovation capacity and financial capacity on the export performance of SMEs; and to identify the factors that are more significant.

Findings

The results indicate that innovation has a positive relationship, while the price of the product has a negative relationship with the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises, showing that there is a possibility of overemphasizing the role of both variables in export performance of SMEs, at least in the Mexican context. The rest of the variables were not statistically significant to the generated model, perhaps because they are implicitly considered at the time of exporting and entering international markets.

Originality/value

These results will help companies to focus their efforts on obtaining resources to maintain and expand exports and find new opportunities in foreign markets to grow. They also show that companies can implement different types of internationalization strategies with the study’s variables to achieve better performance.

Propósito

El objetivo de este estudio es impulsar la internacionalización de las empresas mediante la implementación de factores clave que les ayudarán a incrementar sus exportaciones en un contexto de países emergentes como México, donde muy pocas pequeñas y medianas empresas logran la internacionalización.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Según las diferentes teorías sobre la internacionalización de las empresas, cinco variables independientes fueron diseñadas para medir su efecto en el desempeño de las exportaciones, utilizando un modelo de regresión múltiple en una muestra de 95 pequeñas y medianas empresas industriales mexicanas. En este contexto, el objetivo de este estudio es investigar el impacto del precio del producto, la calidad del producto, la capacidad instalada, la capacidad de innovación y la capacidad financiera en el desempeño exportador de las PYME, e identificar los factores que son más relevantes.

Resultados

Los resultados indican que la innovación tiene una relación positiva, mientras que el precio del producto tiene una relación negativa con la internacionalización de las pequeñas y medianas empresas, lo que demuestra que existe la posibilidad de sobre-enfatizar el papel de ambas variables en el desempeño exportador de las pequeñas y medianas empresas, al menos en el contexto mexicano. El resto de las variables no resultaron estadísticamente significativas para el modelo generado, tal vez porque están consideradas de forma implícita al momento de exportar e ingresar a los mercados internacionales.

Originalidad/valor

Estos resultados ayudarán a las empresas a concentrar sus esfuerzos en obtener recursos para mantener y expandir las exportaciones y encontrar nuevas oportunidades en los mercados extranjeros para el crecimiento. También demuestran que las empresas pueden implementar diferentes tipos de estrategias de internacionalización con las variables de estudio para lograr un mejor desempeño.

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2007

Rhona E. Johnsen

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the role of focal suppliers in strategic networks for internationalisation from the perspectives of small and medium‐sized Italian…

1330

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the role of focal suppliers in strategic networks for internationalisation from the perspectives of small and medium‐sized Italian and Thai silk suppliers.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple case studies of small and medium‐sized suppliers within the silk industries of Italy and Thailand were undertaken. In total, seventeen interviews and three observations were conducted with directors or managers of silk suppliers and a range of government agencies, associations and institutes involved with the silk industry, to identify significant current issues within the sector. Conceptually clustered and role ordered matrices were used as coding frameworks to reduce, structure and analyse the data.

Findings

Silk suppliers' networks may be co‐ordinated by a focal supplier that assumes the role of strategic leader. The involvement of a focal and strategically‐focused supplier may strengthen and integrate the resources and capabilities of silk suppliers in their networks and enable them to improve their international network development and positioning.

Research limitations/implications

Further investigation is needed on the details of specific roles of focal suppliers in strategic networks.

Practical implications

Silk suppliers, their customers and government agencies involved with silk suppliers should: advocate and actively support the development of focal suppliers in their networks to enhance the effectiveness of their internationalisation process and strategy.

Originality/value

There tends to be a consensus in the literature about the influence of focal customers and larger organisations in strategic networks. This study highlights how small and medium‐sized silk suppliers adopt the roles attributed to focal firms and gain positioning advantages for themselves and other suppliers in their network.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2007

E. Esra Karadeniz and Kenan Göçer

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that underlie the internationalization of small‐ medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and to identify the most significant…

3863

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that underlie the internationalization of small‐ medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and to identify the most significant factors/variables that are related to the internationalization process of these firms in Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for the analysis conducted in this study were collected from 471 owners/managers of SMEs in Turkey. This study examined the relationship of all variables in the internationalization of the small firms through use of Pearson and regression analysis.

Findings

This study showed that the ability to be an exporter was related to the business age and size, the intensity of R&D, the growth rate of the domestic markets and the planning for export, pursued by SMEs.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional nature of this study may have limitations in regards to observing the direction and causality of some of the variables. The caution should be also taken when generalizing the findings beyond the scope of this study. The findings are limited to Turkish SMEs.

Originality/value

A model in this study combines three classes of variables – firm, environmental, and management. Most empirical research has been concentrated on investigating one of these variables in relation to international performance. Earlier empirical research also concentrates on established larger firms and has not taken small firms into account. This study fills in a gap in the empirical research in terms of combining these variables to explain the internationalization process and studying the effect of these variables on smaller firms.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 19 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2012

Dario Miocevic and Biljana Crnjak‐Karanovic

Global mindset has gained the respectable attention of international business scholars. Global mindset is a multidisciplinary concept comprised of cognitive and cultural…

1620

Abstract

Purpose

Global mindset has gained the respectable attention of international business scholars. Global mindset is a multidisciplinary concept comprised of cognitive and cultural dimensions which both influence the international behavior and decision making of the firm. The key purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that global mindset is a crucial cognitive driver of the small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) internationalization process. In order to do so, it aims to establish the link between global mindset and export performance outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a literature review, the conceptual model was developed. Data were obtained through survey questionnaire and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) path modeling on the sample of 121 exporting SMEs in Croatia.

Findings

Findings of this study suggest that global mindset is positively, directly and significantly related to the export performance. Furthermore, the link between global mindset and export performance was assessed with the moderating effect of international experience (export diversity and export intensity) and findings reveal that there is no significant moderating effect present.

Research limitations/implications

Findings of this study suggest that global mindset is a crucial driver of the SME internationalization process as it exhibited a significant impact on the export performance outcomes. However, the focus of this paper was solely on the strategic (cognitive) dimension of global mindset. Future studies are yet to reveal the relevance of the integrated concept of global mindset.

Originality/value

The value‐added of this study is in the idea that market‐specific experience cannot be easily transferred to other foreign markets by utilizing global mindset. The moderating effect of international experience dimensions on relationship between global mindset and export performance was found to be insignificant. Eventually, findings suggest that global mindset is not related to the SME's international experience.

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2020

Godwin Mwesigye Ahimbisibwe, Joseph Mpeera Ntayi, Muhammed Ngoma, Geoffrey Bakunda and Levi Bategeka Kabagambe

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether each level in international networking (network extension, network penetration and network integration) matters in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether each level in international networking (network extension, network penetration and network integration) matters in the internationalization of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a cross-sectional and correlational research design. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 206 exporting SMEs in Uganda. The study employed a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique using partial least square (PLS) to test the hypothesis.

Findings

The findings revealed that network extension and network integration do matter in SMEs’ internationalization, while network penetration does not.

Practical implications

SMEs in developing countries need to concentrate on network extension and network integration levels to successfully internationalize their operations.

Originality/value

The study provides initial evidence on whether network extension, network penetration and network integration matter in SMEs’ internationalization in developing countries like Uganda.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 27 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

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