How can emerging market small and medium-sized enterprises maximise internationalisation benefits? The moderating effect of organisational flexibility

Abstract

A fundamental assumption in the small business literature is that the competitive advantages of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are rooted in their organisational flexibility. However, prior research tends to view the effects of different types of organisational flexibility as homogeneous. In the context of the internationalisation of SMEs from emerging markets, this article proposes that different types of organisational flexibility influence the extent to which SMEs can benefit from their internationalisation. Using a sample of Chinese SMEs, the study shows that strategic flexibility helps emerging market SMEs benefit from their internationalisation, but that operational flexibility weakens the main effect. Finally, structural flexibility has no significant influence on the internationalisation–performance relationship.

How innovativeness and institution affect ISO 9000 adoption and its effectiveness: evidence from small and medium enterprises in China

“…This empirical study echoes the call to integrate the external-oriented institution-based strategy with the internal-oriented resource-based strategy of firms (e.g. Oliver, 1997;Peng et al, 2008), especially for innovative SMEs operating in international contexts, which generally suffer from multiple constraints such as the liabilities of smallness, newness and foreignness (Delios & Henisz, 2003;Djupdal & Westhead, 2015;Zhang et al, 2014).…”

“…The finding that the ISO -performance link is moderated by multiple institutional contexts suggests that ISO 9000 certification can indeed help SMEs, especially those SMEs expanding into the international market, to overcome the liabilities of smallness, newness (Djupdal & Westhead, 2015) and foreignness (Delios & Henisz, 2003;Zhang et al, 2014). In addition, this finding shows that SMEs from emerging economies do need to proactively adopt legitimisation strategies such as ISO certification to respond to different institutional contexts in order to achieve better performance during the internationalisation process (Peng et al, 2008).…”

“…One of the reasons behind this trend or fad is the rapid development of internationalisation, which calls for more internationally recognised standards to decrease the trade barrier between countries or regions in order to promote global trade (Boiral, 2003(Boiral, , 2012. The question of whether firms, especially SMEs, can benefit from internationalisation has always been debated (Zhang, Ma, Wang, & Wang, 2014). On the one hand, internationalisation brings greater cost efficiencies and more learning opportunities, which may help firms improve performance (Christmann & Taylor, 2001; on the other hand, it exposes firms to higher risks, such as political hazards, additional costs of market ambiguity and 4…”

“…From this perspective, SMEs having an export business are more likely to gain ISO certification in order to facilitate further integration into the international market through responding to the institutional constraints beyond the domestic market (Boso, Cadogan, & Story, 2012;Kumar, Mudambi, & Gray, 2013;Li & Ding, 2013). Furthermore, the negative side of internationalisation may be exacerbated for emerging country SMEs, which may suffer from more severe latecomer disadvantages and liabilities of foreignness due to a lack of competence and experience in international market (Boso et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2014). Considering different institutional constraints between China and other countries, Chinese SME exporters will face more rigorous and complex institutional pressure than SMEs operating solely in China (purely domestic).…”

North American entrepreneurs in Cuba: which entry mode and government affiliation strategy?

“…Being comprised of three dimensions (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking), this term can seem exciting, sophisticated, or even reckless (Matsuno et al, 2002). It has been correlated with higher performance outcomes by firms displaying a higher degree than their competitors (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996;Matsuno et al, 2002;Miller and Camp, 1985;Miller, 2011;Rauch, 2009;Boso et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2014;Lonial and Carter, 2015). In all, EO describes the character and nature of the decision-making executive (or manager) that governs a company.…”