Abstract
The importance of international markets is constantly emphasized for small and medium enterprises(SMEs). In previous studies, technological innovation capabilities were emphasized as a factor that enables SMEs to compete in the international market. To this end, SMEs need to cooperate with external partners to strengthen their technological innovation capabilities to thus improve their international performance. With the perspective view of open innovation, this research explores the effects of relational capital and technological innovation capability on international performance, with a particular focus on the moderating effect of alliance proactiveness. Building on previous literature regarding internationalization, technological innovation, and alliance proactiveness, research hypotheses were developed and tested using data collected from 175 SMEs. A hierarchical regression analysis was applied. The analysis showed that, first, relational capital had a significant effect on the technological innovation capability. Second, technological innovation capability has a significant influence on the international performance. Third, technological innovation capability mediated the relationship between relational capital and international performance. Finally, alliance proactiveness was found to moderate the relationship between technological innovation capability and international performance. The key research findings imply that relational capital and alliance proactiveness are the key factors of international performance, as they improved the development of the technological innovation capability.
Highlights
IntroductionThe importance of advancing into international markets is constantly being emphasized for small and medium enterprises(SMEs)
The results indicated that all values exceeded the acceptable threshold of 0.70 [65], ranging from 0.856 to 0.915
The purposes of this study were to examine the causal relationship between the relational capital, technological innovation capability, and international performance of
Summary
The importance of advancing into international markets is constantly being emphasized for small and medium enterprises(SMEs). Firms entering international markets have various economic advantages. As the market size increases, the market power is strengthened according to the effects of economies of scale and scope, and this is a very important activity for firms because it helps to increase productivity and profitability [1]. Previous studies emphasized the importance of strategic assets, such as technological innovation capabilities, as a factor that enables SMEs to compete in international markets [2]. The importance of firms with high technological innovation capabilities is increasing even more because they have the advantage of being able to maintain competitiveness through differentiation in international markets [3]
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