The Proactive Initiation of SMEs’ Foreign Business Relationships

Abstract

Taking control over one's destiny by proactive internationalization has been considered an important performance indicator in small business research. We develop a model that examines how internal and external contextual factors influence SMEs’ foreign market entry through proactive initiation of business relationships in foreign markets. The ability to proactively leverage such relationships is essential for opening up avenues into foreign markets and serves as a first step in negating the liability of outsidership that could prohibit firms from acquiring relevant market‐specific resources. By examining the dynamics that either can enable or constrain firms in their efforts to become insiders in foreign markets in the entry phase, we contribute to international small business theory. We also add conceptual and practical insights to international small business research by providing valuable empirical verification of how and to what extent the proactive initiation of foreign business relationships of SMEs is internally or externally conditioned.

The role of entrepreneurial orientation in tangible and intangible resource acquisition and new venture growth

“…In turn, these resources (e.g., information and knowledge) contribute to their firms' performance. Our findings also favor Tolstoy (2018) who claimed that proactive managers enter into a new market before their competitors' arrival and seize all the essential resources to ensure their firms' growth.…”

Entrepreneurial Orientation, Knowledge Utilization and Internationalization of Firms

“…Knight [49] proved that this three-dimensional concept is the main factor of success, determining the international accomplishments of firms. The positive relation between entrepreneurial orientation and the internationalization process was observed in numerous empirical works [19,33,52,57,58]. Very few researchers reported an insignificant relation between entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization [59] or indicated a negative relation between the two factors [60].…”

“…To date, some researchers have investigated how EO impacts firm performance (e.g., [16][17][18]) or internationalization (e.g., [19][20][21][22][23]), while other researchers have found some empirical evidence that the knowledge management process (knowledge acquisition, sharing, and utilization) impacts the internationalization of a firm [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. The effects of knowledge of internationalization and the effects of entrepreneurial orientation on internationalization have been discussed independently by previous researchers such as Etemad [19], Hsu, Chen and Chen [32], Tolstoy [33], and Yoon, Kim, and Dedahanov [34].…”

How Entrepreneurial Orientation Stimulates Different Types of Knowledge in the Internationalisation Process of Firms from Poland?

“…Rant and Černe (2017) observed that differentiation via innovation positively impacts firm performance on international markets in the case of firms from the region of CEE. Numerous studies confirm a positive relation between entrepreneurial orientation and the internationalisation process (Florida, 1997;Yiu, Lau, & Bruton, 2007;Etemad, 2015;Swoboda & Olejnik, 2016;Tolstoy, 2018). However, this is not the final position of the researchers.…”