Small Firms as International Players

In this paper, using aggregate data from the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis, the author explores the strategies small U.S.-based foreign investing firms follow in their international activities. The aggregate study supports the findings of an earlier study of a few small firms with international activities. These firms have a lower-than-expected tendency to form minority-owned affiliates abroad. An analysis of the industries in which these small foreign investing firms operate supports the notion that these firms follow specific strategies uncovered in the small-scale study. Finally, the paper ties the findings to alliance strategies of small firms.