Exploring the Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing between Informal Business Networks and Organizational Performance: An Insight into SMEs Internationalization in CEE

Abstract

The current study aims to explore the mediating role of knowledge-sharing between international informal business networks and organizational performance. Emphasis is laid on a context-driven perspective, namely the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Central and East Europe (CEE). To that end, an online questionnaire-based survey was conducted with 111 managers of CEE SMEs operating in different trade branches. The findings have shown that 46.6% of the variance in organizational performance is explained by the proposed model while 38.9% of the variance in the knowledge sharing process is explained by the affiliation of CEE SMEs to international informal business networks. The results have both theoretical and practical implications, supporting the imperative to further study the phenomena apposite to CEE region as a compelling research laboratory for multidimensional organizational idiosyncrasies.