Use of supplier-customer relationships by SMEs to enter foreign markets |
| |
Authors: | Frank Bradley [Author Vitae] Ralf Meyer [Author Vitae] Yuhui Gao [Author Vitae] |
| |
Institution: | a The Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland b Danfoss Industrieautomatik GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany |
| |
Abstract: | Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) that have gained experience in a supplier-customer relationship with multinational companies in the domestic market may be able to leverage that relationship to recruit new customers abroad. Is it possible to internationalize such supplier-customer relationships is the research question addressed in this paper. We tested five hypotheses, derived from the internationalization and interorganizational literature, using non-parametric tests and regression analysis with data provided by customers and suppliers in the computer industry. We discover that while customers initiate the first supplier-customer relationship, additional relationships, formed with the objective of internationalizing the firm are often initiated by SME itself, a new finding. |
| |
Keywords: | Supplier-customer relationships Internationalization SME International market entry Inter-organizational linkages |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|