The Impacts of Management on the International Development of SMEs

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the role of management in the internationalization path of SMEs. Management has been recognized by entrepreneurship and international business studies as the main factor influencing the initiation, development, maintenance, and success of SMEs’ internationalization processes. In SMEs, the owner or a limited group of people, mainly family members, are directly involved in, and responsible for, the decisions of the firm. This is believed to affect the decision-making process of the firm, and the degree and direction of the process. Following this point of view, the chapter examines the influence of specific managerial issues, such as firm-specific resources and capabilities, management attitude, perceptions, and characteristics, in the internationalization path of SMEs. More specifically, the chapter focuses on the distinction between objective (for example, age, educational level, language proficiency, and experiences acquired abroad) and subjective (for example, managers’ perceptions and beliefs, risk tolerance, innovativeness, flexibility, commitment, and dynamism) managerial characteristics, and on their role in affecting the international behavior of small firms.