A Study on Factors Affecting the Internationalization Process of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Abstract

As a result of the rapid prevalence of Information Technologies, disappearance of the borders between countries as a sequel of globalization and the fast increase in the number of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME)s, products and services similar to each other are emerging. Within such a context, firms are striving to increase the demand for their products and gain attention through differentiation both in local and global markets. Due to its important role in international trade of countries, SMEs are being considered as major role players in economies and therefore became an attractive area to explore by researchers. The literature on the internationalization of firms is predominantly build on research from the US and western European countries while there is a few number of research conducted in Turkey (Bal and Kunday, 2014; Şengüler, 2013; Koçak and Abimbola, 2009; Çavuşgil, Knight and Üner, 2011). The internationalization of SMEs has been mostly investigated within the marketing literature and there is a lack on this subject within the Management and Organization literature. Setting out from this need, the aim of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurial skills of the entrepreneur who founded the SME, the motive of the entrepreneur for starting the business, the innovativeness of the firm, and the relationship of these factors with the internationalization of firms. The sample of the research consists of entrepreneurs who have been reached via the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study in 80 countries between the years 2000-2012. Hierarchical Regression Model was used to test the hypotheses at macro level including data from each country. Research findings and implications are presented and discussed.