Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyse marketing capabilities, through the dynamic capabilities framework, in order to increase understanding of how gradual global SMEs operating in traditional sectors can improve their export performance.The work is based on the exploratory, descriptive, qualitative method of a case study. An Italian SME has been selected on the basis of its export performance and marketing activities. The study has been conducted through secondary data analysis and a semi-structured in-depth interview with the CEO, with the aim of highlighting the relevance of emerging dynamic marketing capabilities connected with international performance.The results show that a SME, which lacks resources for international expansion, can improve its export performance by adapting, integrating, building, and reconfiguring its existing internal and external marketing capabilities for international markets.The principal limitation of this work is that, by analysing a company belonging to the alcoholic beverage sector, where price decisions are often left to importers, it was not possible to analyse dynamic pricing capabilities. This paper offers a contribution to the discussion of the internationalization of gradual global SMEs from the perspective of marketing and dynamic capabilities, missing from the literature, which is mainly focused on the study of multinational and born global enterprises.
Highlights
Globalization and increased competition in domestic markets have made internationalization an inevitable process
The study has been conducted through secondary data analysis and a semi-structured in-depth interview with the CEO, with the aim of highlighting the relevance of emerging dynamic marketing capabilities connected with international performance
This paper offers a contribution to the discussion of the internationalization of gradual global SMEs from the perspective of marketing and dynamic capabilities, missing from the literature, which is mainly focused on the study of multinational and born global enterprises
Summary
Globalization and increased competition in domestic markets have made internationalization an inevitable process. Most businesses in Europe are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), that often lack the resources and skills needed to achieve a competitive advantage in foreign markets. To achieve positive performance through exports, SMEs need to have specific marketing capabilities, generally defined as the result of an integrative process designed to apply the collective knowledge, skills, and resources of the firm to solve marketing problems (Weerawardena, 2003). When a company operates in different complex and mutable markets, possessing and exploiting marketing capabilities abroad is not enough to ensure a competitive advantage, which is an antecedent of export performance; it requires, instead, the development of dynamic marketing capabilities, intended as the abilities to build, integrate, and reconfigure internal and external marketing competencies (Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997)
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