Search results

The motivation for a firm to operate overseas can vary significantly among smaller firms. The reasons why firms internationalise, rather than remain in the domestic market, vary depending upon: their industry, their home country, their managers’ perceptions and decision-making orientation. Companies are influenced by different motivations to reach foreign markets and use different strategies including different entry modes. These motivations can be internal or external, reactive or proactive. This chapter begins by focusing on how different motivations of firms can influence their success in foreign markets from a generic perspective. The authors then present a case study of Brazilian small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the shoe industry, a traditional, low-technology sector, which play an important role in the Brazilian economy. The shoe industry changed significantly over time, until the 1970s had little international experience, in the 1990s was impacted by new Asian market competition, illustrating with firm examples taken from interviews, how SMEs have had to evolve and change their international strategic approaches and motivations over time. The authors conclude with perspectives on SME specificities. Understanding what motivates shoe firms to go abroad and their internationalisation behaviour allows us to provide some suggestions to SME managers in their process of expansion into international markets.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical development of the theme by the proposition of an industrial cluster typology method considering that the set of local variables related to the firms characteristics are essential for the strengthening of the interfirms’ relationship and consequently their performance.

The theoretical basis of this study are the types of clusters found in literature and the research. A survey with several types of actors were performed with companies from footwear production chain in the region of Franca, Brazil. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics techniques as well as multivariate exploratory methods.

This study highlight multiple characteristics derived from different cluster typologies within the same productive chain.

From a theoretical standpoint, the research results extended the perspective about the strategic role played by the local cooperation and also offer to managers and representative institutions a possibility to reflect on different types of governance principles adopted in collective actions.

This study seeks to compare and contrast the contexts and processes of the formation and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil and Mexico. Additionally, a research agenda is defined based on information generated by various sources regarding the initial stages of enterprise formation.

This research paper uses data collected from a 2002 study conducted by the Inter‐American Development Bank, along with institutional reports and academic literature, in order to perform a comparative analysis on the gestation and early development of SMEs in Brazil and Mexico.

This analysis of prior research studies indicates that emerging economies like Brazil and Mexico face enormous social and economic challenges that have in turn slowed down the efficiency and effectiveness of SME support programs. In addition, the differences found in the institutional, socio‐cultural, and economic context of Brazil and Mexico reveal that governments and entrepreneurs face the challenge of sustaining the existence of SMEs.

Since, there was no access to raw data and no statistical procedures could be conducted, the significance of the differences between SMEs in Brazil and Mexico discussed in this paper is perceptual. Future research resulting from this paper shall develop theories that would help to create effective SME support programs, identify how particularities in every country affect SME formation, development, and survival, and explore issues faced in the growth, maturity, and mortality stages of SMEs.

SMEs are extremely important to the economies of both Brazil and Mexico. However, an understanding of the micro and macro issues faced by these countries is very limited. This research paper identifies and analyzes such issues in order to specifically make way for future empirical research.

The paper aims to focus on the development and application of a benchmarking information system designed for use within a cluster.

Case study as the field research methodology for theory testing and refinement.

Despite the difficulties and a lack of maturity for benchmarking and performance management to be overcome, the governing institutions and most of the companies have realized that implementation of the system in itself represents a step towards managing improvement of the clusters.

Research is still at an early stage and applications of the information system need to be carried on further so as to review and validate it.

Absence of a culture of decision making based on analysis of information and lack of resources may create some difficulty in using metrics for a cluster of SMEs.

The paper proposes to apply the concepts and techniques of business performance management and improvement to manage performance of clusters of companies, offering a new approach on how to improve the collective efficiency of a cluster.

There is an increased research interest in the recent phenomenon of Chinese small and medium‐sized businesses (SMEs) going abroad. The paper aims to enrich the literature by proposing a “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum helping Chinese SMEs going abroad. This innovative entrepreneurial curriculum is based on the Soft Landings program originally developed by the National Business Incubation Association. The objective of the curriculum is to provide a platform for students at various levels (undergraduate, graduate, and executive education) and business communities to engage in China‐USA‐Brazil entrepreneurship.

The “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum, consisting of three core elements (resources and networks; five steps process of coaching; cultivating storytellers), is grounded in the theories of input‐process‐output model of strategic entrepreneurship and docility‐based distributed cognition.

A “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum was developed to help the Chinese SMEs to invest in USA and Brazil. The curriculum is designed to take advantage of resources from the participating entities with the impact of enriching our students' educational experience and enabling business communities to engage in global business opportunities. The “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum is a win‐win program for everyone involved.

The curriculum is based on the Soft Landings International Incubator Designation program originally developed by the National Business Incubation Association. Since there is a need for the soft landings companies to go global, there is also a need for students to go global; the “Flying High, Landing Soft” curriculum is a merge of these two concepts.

The authors have developed a curriculum that links China‐USA‐Brazil entrepreneurs, investors, students and institutions to collaborate in order to help individuals to exploit market opportunities as well as use the process to educate students. This form of entrepreneurship curriculum is a contribution to our understanding about entrepreneurship, especially international entrepreneurship of SMEs.

The mainstream research on knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity (ACAP) in clusters was conducted in high-technology industries in developing countries. However, low technology intensity clusters present a different scenario that might affect this external knowledge transfer and ACAP. This study aims to understand the role of network relations and previous knowledge in the ACAP of a low-technology intensity cluster.

The authors analyzed companies from a low-technology industry in an emerging country. The authors collected 109 questionnaires from companies in the Brazilian footwear manufacturing cluster. Factor analysis led the independent variables to be regrouped into eight variables. This data set was analyzed using regression techniques.

In a low-tech cluster prevalently populated by small companies, companies have access to novelties and knowledge that influence their products and production through the frequency and stability of the network’s relational ties with the supplier. The quality of relationships with clients may provide access to products, materials, technologies and learning. Small companies consider intra-cluster competition because of limitations in accessing external competition. Although low-tech companies need to exchange knowledge and technology with suppliers and clients outside the cluster, most companies are limited in size because of liabilities. In a low-tech cluster dominated by small companies, access to better purchasing costs, new technologies or innovations is an expected weakness. Intra- and extra-cluster ties positively influenced ACAP, as did organizational capabilities, whereas employees’ skills did not.

Individual skills are not related to ACAP in low-technology intensity clusters. The level of ACAP in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can be explained by the scope of individuals’ knowledge and other individual capabilities.

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss a conceptual model for performance measurement and management of a cluster based on the concepts of the Balanced Scorecard and other models.

This paper was based on a case research as the field research methodology for theory testing and refinement.

The proposed model adequately captures the perspectives of performance management of a cluster, emphasizing the importance of measuring leading and lagging dimensions of performance such as collective efficiency and economic/social results.

Research is still at an early stage and applications of the model need to be carry on further so as to review and validate it.

Absence of a culture of decision making based on analysis of information and lack of resources may create some difficulty in using metrics for a cluster of SMEs.

The paper proposes applying the concepts and techniques of business performance management and measurement to manage performance of clusters of companies, offering a new approach on how to improve the collective efficiency of a cluster.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the development dynamics of two business networks initially created to promote the internationalization of its members. Wines of Brasil – a Brazilian wineries network – was established in 2002 and remains active, while Vitrocristal (VtC) – a Portuguese network of glass producers – was established in 1994 and is already closed.

Data were collected from 14 interviews, with network managers and representatives of companies with different sizes and participation times. Information obtained was compared with the life cycle model of Wegner et al. (2015) and enabled the authors to understand the dynamic development of each network and its current stage in the life cycle.

The results allowed the authors to describe the development pattern of both business networks, showing that the Brazilian network is in the consolidation stage while the Portuguese one finished its activities in 2007 after a period of financial constraints due to the end of governmental support.

The comparison of the two cases shows that the experience of the Portuguese business network may be useful for networks in emerging markets, as it displays several difficulties that the management of such networks may face during their life cycle.

This study provides a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the dynamics of change in business networks. The cases confirm the life cycle stages proposed by Wegner et al. (2015) and shed more light on the development process of business networks, by describing how exogenous variables such as public support may affect cooperation.

Advancing the ability of emerging market small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to learn, absorb new technologies, and grow is one of the greatest challenges in economic development and to theories of knowledge transfer. This chapter analyzes the mechanisms that can facilitate or impede the participation of Latin American SMEs in global value chains (GVCs), and in turn improve their capabilities and productivity. We attempt to shift the focus of attention that scholars and policy-makers have toward the types of knowledge and network linkages that emerging market SMEs need to sustainably benefit from GVCs. By drawing on recent work from the knowledge theory of the firm, development, and network dynamics, we call into question a core assumption about the necessary benefits that can accrue to SMEs by being tied more closely to sources of pioneering technologies. We argue instead that in order to overcome legacies of resource constraints and technology gaps, these SMEs need access to a variety of applied and experiential knowledge that help them transform their existing organizational capabilities into ones that enable them to implement basic international process and product standards, in turn allowing them to learn from potentially fruitful relationships in GVCs. Because of the way such knowledge is created, through intense interactions and exchanges of tacit knowledge, access is constrained. With a focus on the need for broad based upgrading of SME capabilities, we further suggest that particular constellations of interorganizational networks and public-private institutions, often overlooked in IB research, are best suited to facilitate such access.

This chapter explores the context of global ventures, gives an overview of an entrepreneur’s motivations, and discusses literature on internationalization strategies of firms. Entrepreneurs innovate and find new ways to create or discover new opportunities, start a new venture, or grow an existing venture. Indeed, firms grow through sustainable and innovative process considering economic, social, and environmental protection (the three pillars of sustainability). Indeed, entrepreneurial motivations to take business globally can be because of “push” or “pull” forces such as the creation of global products and services, access to global market, access to strategic resources, and access to global sourcing. However, the capability to internationalize is dependent on the interaction between entrepreneurs’ internal resources and external constraints. These constraints are explained by the Ghemawat’s CAGE Distance Framework, including “cultural,” “administrative,” “geographic,” and “economic” challenges.