International strategy and performance—Clustering strategic types of SMEs

This paper identifies different strategic types of internationalised SMEs, in so doing providing managers and entrepreneurs with a much better understanding of the main strategic options and their relationship with the international performance of firms. We provide a theoretical analysis of strategic orientations and strategic behaviour in international SMEs, followed by an empirical investigation based on a sample of Italian SMEs. The SMEs are grouped into strategic types using cluster analysis, and the link between strategic type and international performance is subsequently analysed using logistic regression. The empirical data suggest that there are four broad strategic types, namely an entrepreneurial/growth-oriented group of firms, a customer-oriented group, a product/inward-oriented cluster, and a further group of firms that lacks strategic orientation. The characteristics of the strategic clusters are discussed, and the regression results show that a clear and proactive strategic orientation and its consistency with business strategy leads to improved international performance. This confirms the positive and highly significant role of strategic types.     

Internationalization and entrepreneurial orientation of family SMEs: The influence of the family character

Internationalization is an important entrepreneurial strategy for promoting the long-term growth and survivability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Family involvement in top management teams (TMTs) can explain the heterogeneous behaviors of these firms’ international entrepreneurship process. This paper analyzes the moderating effects of the family’s influence on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization with two TMT diversities found only in family firms: the family TMT ratio and generational involvement. An analysis of 191 Spanish family SMEs indicated that entrepreneurial orientation plays a significant role in explaining the degree of internationalization in family firms and that a diversely formed TMT shapes this relationship. A high concentration of family members in managerial positions hinders the international entrepreneurship process. This fact highlights the importance of hiring non-family managers to promote internationalization. The results also reveal that involving multiple generations in decision-making hampers entrepreneurial internationalization, generating control and coordination problems.     

Learning about foreign markets: A study of Czech SMEs

Drawing on the organizational learning literature, our study examines the role of foreign market knowledge and firm emphasis on technological innovation in the internationalization of small, entrepreneurial firms in the Czech Republic. It is based on a sample of 168 SMEs representing a broad range of manufacturing industries that were founded after the fall of communism and as the Czech economy was transitioning to a more market-based economy. Findings indicate that emphasis on technological innovation is associated with greater acquisition of foreign market knowledge. In addition, our results indicate that emphasis on technological innovation directly and indirectly influences the performance of such SMEs in international markets. Our findings also suggest that foreign market knowledge partially mediates the relationship between firm emphasis on technological innovation and international performance. Implications of our findings from the perspective of theory and practice are discussed.     

Business Intelligence versus Entrepreneurial Competitive Intelligence and International Competitiveness of North African SMEs

This paper aims to analyze the effects of different devices of business intelligence and entrepreneurial competitive intelligence on the international competitiveness of 300 North African SMEs. Furthermore, we will try through this paper to examine the mechanical role of the internal audit of entrepreneurial competitive intelligence in the packaging of such effects. The originality of this research lies in the attempt to better understand theoretically and empirically the particularities of each of the concepts related to entrepreneurial competitive intelligence and its internal audit on one side and its effects on the international competitiveness based on export intensity on the other side. Our results show that the competitive position of North African SMEs is strongly dependent on the entrepreneurial competitive intelligence approach because it includes essential additional actions which refer not only to a defensive attitude but also and potentially to entrepreneurial orientation.     

How classical and entrepreneurial brand management increases the performance of internationalising SMEs?

Research is limited on how accumulated international experience and decision-making style propel internationalising SMEs toward brand orientation. Our study builds a model of the process on classical and entrepreneurial brand management principles plus the firm's applied experience and decision-making logics. An online survey of 235 internationalising SMEs found that adopted decision-making logic mediated the relationship between cumulative international experience and international brand orientation. We conclude that managers and planners must select the most appropriate approach to international brand management permitted by available international firm-specific experience if they are to achieve strong international brand orientation and superior financial performance.     

Entrepreneurial orientation,entrepreneurial competencies,innovation, and performances in SMEs of Pakistan: Moderating role of social ties

The current study examines the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies in entrepreneurial orientation’s relationship with financial, social, and environmental performance. This research also determines the role of social ties in strengthening the association between innovation and entrepreneurial competencies with social, financial, and environmental performance. Using multi-source and time-lagged studies, the data was collected from 297 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan, and structural equation modeling was used to test direct, indirect, and moderating hypotheses. The findings show that entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial competencies, and innovation positively correlate with all the types of performance under investigation and confirm the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies. Additionally, social network ties strengthen innovation—financial performance, and entrepreneurial competencies—social performance relationship. This research proposes significant theoretical and managerial implications by determining the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on SMEs in Pakistan.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and international commitment

This paper contributes to the development of the field of international corporate entrepreneurship (ICE) by examining the influences that the time lapse between foundation and first international market entry may have on the development of an entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Moreover, the paper highlights the existence of a positive relationship between the development of an entrepreneurial orientation and both internationalization decision and dimensions (degree, scope) in established companies. Based on a sample of 155 Spanish firms, our findings suggest that an entrepreneurial orientation positively influences a firm’s propensity to internationalize activities. The results obtained confirm the idea that fast entry into foreign markets is positively related to the development of an entrepreneurial orientation in established firms, and that firms with a marked entrepreneurial orientation have higher relative international sales and operate in a greater number of foreign countries.     

Entrepreneurial Orientation,Dynamic Capabilities and International Performance

In order to be able to seize the opportunities that a dynamic operating environment opens up, entrepreneurial firms have to reconfigure their existing asset base and processes. This study explores the effect of an entrepreneurial orientation and a firm's reconfiguring capabilities on international performance by using survey data from 217 manufacturing and service organizations. Our findings indicate that a firm's entrepreneurial orientation and reconfiguring capabilities have an effect on its international performance and provide empirical support for the dynamic capability view of the firm. Entrepreneurial behavior combined with organizational reconfiguring capabilities constitutes a potential source of competitive advantage.     

International springboard as an entrepreneurial act

International springboard is an entrepreneurial act that requires international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO). An important aspect of international springboard is the establishment of a deeply localized flagship foreign subsidiary to help pursue diverse international strategic goals. We model parent-level IEO as a mediator in the relationships between diversity of international strategic goals and flagship subsidiary localization strategies (customer responsiveness, market scope, and local cooperativeness). The results from a sample of 208 Chinese MNEs demonstrate that the three dimensions of IEO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking) play an important but differentiated mediation role. The study illustrates the connection between parent-level entrepreneurial behavior and subsidiary-level strategic actions through which MNEs capture cross-national entrepreneurial opportunities.     

Returnee entrepreneurs and firm performance in Chinese high-technology industries

Building on the knowledge-based view and network perspectives, this paper explores the relationships between knowledge, networks and firm performance. Using a unique, hand-collected dataset of 353 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of returning entrepreneurs and 358 local entrepreneur-owned SMEs from Zhongguancun Science Park in China, we find that the SMEs of returning entrepreneurs perform better than those owned by local entrepreneurs due to their technological and commercial knowledge as well as their international entrepreneurial orientation. Our results show that international networks positively affect firm performance in high-tech industries. Our findings indicate that returnee entrepreneurs gain competitive advantages through utilising their intangible assets to exploit business opportunities and development in an emerging economy.     

International Opportunity Recognition among Small and Medium‐Sized Family Firms*

Current research in the field of entrepreneurship emphasizes the importance of opportunity recognition as a key element in the entrepreneurial process. It has been recognized that network ties, activeness and alertness, and prior knowledge are related to how entrepreneurs recognize new opportunities. However, it is unclear how important these factors are when a firm explores opportunities for entry into a foreign market. In this exploratory case study, covering the international opportunity recognition of eight family‐owned small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), we found that the firms in question mainly recognized international opportunities by establishing new formal ties rather than using existing informal or family ties. The findings also indicated that due to the small size and the flexibility of the management team in family SMEs, these firms were able to react quickly to new international opportunities. However, there was no direct relationship between the prior knowledge of the firms and their international opportunity recognition. In addition, we found that trade exhibitions formed the primary context for the international opportunity recognition of the SMEs in this study. These findings motivate a set of five propositions that may lead to further studies on this topic.     

Investigating a neglected part of Schumpeter’s creative army: what drives new-to-the-market innovation in micro-enterprises?

This paper tests a theoretical model to evaluate e-business capability and value in the fast growth small-to-medium enterprise (SME) context. We propose that e-business value depends on how fast growth SMEs deploy IT resources, strategic planning, culture, and business partnerships to develop e-business capability and business process competence which help these companies to achieve outstanding business performance. Structural equation modelling is employed to test our theoretical conceptualization on a cohort of 310 Australian fast growth SMEs across different industrial sectors. The results show that IT resources, strategic IT alignment, market orientation, and business partnerships do contribute significantly and indirectly to SME performance through the development of e-business capability and business process competence. Our study provides an initial empirical evidence to understand the relationship between IT and entrepreneurial SME performance. These findings have important implications for research and business practices.     

Proactiveness,legitimation via ISO certification and the growth of SMEs in China

According to the literature on entrepreneurial orientation (EO), proactive firms are more likely to achieve first-mover advantage and higher performance. The neoinstitutionalism, however, suggests that enterprises with more legitimacy will acquire more growth opportunities. Usually, the first mover might face more legitimacy obstacles. To date, there has been little research on how proactive firms cope with legitimacy constraints and achieve firm growth. Integrating the legitimacy perspective and the EO literature, this research examines the roles of ISO certification as a strategy for seeking legitimacy of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies, and the relationship between proactiveness and firm performance. In particular, it hypothesizes that ISO certification has a mediating effect on the relationship between proactiveness and firm growth. We test the hypothesis using a sample of 632 firms collected from a nationwide survey on SMEs conducted by the Chinese SME Association. The results reveal that ISO certification partially mediates the relationship between proactiveness and firm growth, suggesting that proactive firms tend to use legitimation via ISO certification to enhance firm growth. Our paper contributes to the literature by shedding light on the important relationship between seeking legitimacy, entrepreneurial orientation and firm growth in SMEs in an emerging economy.     

Effect of SMEs' International Experience on Foreign Intensity and Economic Performance: The Mediating Role of Internationally Exploitable Assets and Competitive Strategy

In this paper, we study the relationship between the international experience of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and their economic performance using intangible and financial asset stock, competitive strategy, and international intensity as mediating factors. The RBV provides the theoretical framework to develop a theoretical model postulating that international experience has an indirect effect on foreign growth and economic performance. This model was used to test a sample of 394 Spanish SMEs through the modelization of a structural equations system. Results show that superior economic performance is only achieved by SMEs that can turn the knowledge they gain from international experience into a large endowment of internationally exploitable intangible assets (irrespective of the fact that these assets form the basis for strengthening international intensity) and into a differentiation competitive strategy.     

Explaining Organizational Export Performance by Single and Combined International Business Competencies

This study explores relationships between export performance and international business competencies (international orientation, export market orientation and international entrepreneurial orientation), and interactions between the competencies. Data from on‐site structured interviews with 159 owners and managers of exporting firms from different economic sectors show direct relationships between the competencies and export performance. However, analyses of the effects of interactions between the competencies and export performance show mixed results. The findings suggest developing the identified competencies to increase export performance, but if this would be exclusively based on the direct relationships between the competencies and export performance, results may be suboptimal.     

The influence of firm age and intangible resources on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm growth among Japanese SMEs

With the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance having broad scholarly acceptance, researchers are now delving with increased focus into the contextual factors that change the nature of the relationship between EO and various manifestations of organizational performance. In this vein, this study adopts the resource based view and investigates the moderating influence of firm age and intangible resources on the EO-firm growth relationship among small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan. Further, we propose a three-way interactive model between EO, firm age, and intangible resources to better identify entrepreneurial configurations that promote superior SME growth.     

Entrepreneurial orientation, management commitment, and human capital: The internationalization of SMEs in India

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make sizeable contributions to the economic success of nations. Research concerning the internationalization of SMEs is available in the context of developed economies but less is can be found dealing specifically with the entrepreneurial behavior and international expansion of SMEs in emerging markets such as India. This research extends the literature addressing the relationships surrounding the internationalization of SMEs in India as related to entrepreneurial behavior, firm resources, and commitment to internationalization. Entrepreneurial orientation, a commitment to internationalization, and the ability to leverage human capital influence the international success of Indian SMEs, based on the analysis of data collected from 150 Indian SMEs.     

SME Networks and International Performance: Unveiling the Significance of Foreign Market Entry Mode

This study investigates the relevance of interorganizational networks for the international performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to the foreign market entry mode (FMEM) selected. We distinguish two groups of internationalized SMEs: exporting firms and micromultinational enterprises (mMNEs). Drawing on insights from the network theory, our study accounts for the role of intermediate outcomes (innovative behavior and foreign market knowledge). Structural equation modeling is conducted in a sample of U.K.‐based internationalized SMEs. Our findings suggest that interorganizational networks have an indirect influence on international performance but differences are found among the two groups of internationalized SMEs.     

SMEs international growth: The moderating role of experience on entrepreneurial and learning orientations

New and small firms operating in the high-tech environments need strong entrepreneurial (EO) and learning (LO) orientations to enhance international growth. Yet, the relationship between these two key strategic dimensions and foreign growth can be contingent to the entrepreneur’s individual characteristics. Bringing together elements from strategic management, organization and entrepreneurship literatures, we employ a dynamic temporal perspective considering two levels of analysis, the firm and the entrepreneur, and we apply a fixed effects pooled time-series regression on a sample of 170 firms in two periods of time (2005 and 2015). Our findings indicate that SMEs that possess greater EO and LO have higher international growth. However, previous entrepreneurial and industry-specific managerial experience of the founder/CEO positively exert their effect on these relationships. Our results have important theoretical and practical implications for entrepreneurs and policy makers operating in highly innovative sectors.     

The overestimated role of strategic orientations for international performance in smaller firms

This article examines how market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) relate to international performance in small firms. Empirically, the article draws on survey data from 188 Swedish SMEs. Results show that strategic orientations have a very limited influence on international performance in these firms. Proactiveness and, to some extent, a market orientation proved positively associated with international performance, while innovativeness and risk taking show no such relationship. Our findings highlight the problems associated with using “traditional” MO and EO constructs in an SME setting and point to the need of developing more appropriate constructs tailored to this context. We also note that the MO construct was developed from a “causal view” of marketing, while successful small international firms rely more on effectuation logic. The article also contributes to the debate between the two dominant perspectives that address firms’ early internationalization processes: the process theory of internationalization and the international new venture perspective, where our results are in favor of the latter.