The Internationalization of Knowledge-Based Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises from Syria

Abstract

The internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been the focus of considerable academic and policy-oriented interest. However, most of this previous research has been focussed on developed economies (Leonidou and Katsikeas 1996; Bell 1997; Leonidou 2004). This situation has been slightly remedied by an increasing number of studies focussing on developing countries and economies in transition (Kuada and Sorensen 2000; Ibeh and Young 2001; Ibeh 2003, 2004; Rutashobya and Jaensson 2004; Aidis 2005; Lloyd-Reason et al. 2005; Chung, Chen, and Hsieh 2008; Crick and Kaganda 2008; Liu, Xiao, and Huang 2008). The relative scholarly neglect of developing country firms, nevertheless, remains. This is particularly true of the Middle East region where, apart from Turkey (e.g., Ozkanh, Benek and Akdeve 2006; Karadeniz and Gocer 2007), very few countries have been the focus of stud-ies on SMEs’ cross-border expansion (e.g., Lebanon: Ahmad et al. 2006; Saudi Arabia: Crick, Al Obaidi and Chaudhry 1998).