The Internationalisation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises as a Path to Competitiveness

Abstract

Enterprises’ competitiveness can be seen as the ability to compete in the markets and to maintain or gain market position. Thus, internationalisation, which leads to the acquisition of new markets, can be one of the factors influencing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, despite the considerable amount of attention paid to the internationalisation of SMEs, there is still inadequate empirical evidence to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the internationalisation process of SMEs. Scientific studies tend to focus on the isolated aspects of internationalisation. The first part of this chapter, therefore, presents a comprehensive summary of the theoretical background of this process, especially for SMEs, and shows some specifics of internationalisation of SMEs from other European countries. The second part then provides an overview about the internationalisation of Czech SMEs based on collected primary data. We emphasise not only Czech SMEs’ motives for internationalisation but also barriers that impede the process. This chapter also highlights the factors (especially key ones) that influence Czech SMEs’ success in internationalisation.