Size matters: the effect of European Union membership on firms in Slovenia

Abstract

PurposeTo investigate the relationship between the size of a firm and the strategic choices it makes with regard to the level of internationalisation, product range and breadth of the customer base, in the context of a new Member State of the European Union: Slovenia.Design/methodology/approachThree hypotheses were tested by data collected by a self‐completion postal survey of almost one in five of all manufacturing exporters in the country, directed at general managers or executives involved in making strategic marketing decisions and calling for answers on Likert scales. The response rate was 24 percent.FindingsThere was a clear association between choice of internationalisation strategy and the size of Slovenian firms, which is generally small. That characteristic is a strong predictor of the number of products marketed abroad and the number of customers in export markets served.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies of other variables that may determine export behaviour would add to the utility of these findings for the development of export strategy for firms in developing economies.Practical implicationsAs the new countries of the European Union enter new competitive environments, such findings as these are vital intelligence for their marketing planners.Originality/valueSlovenia is self‐evidently a country of interest to international marketing academics and practitioners.