Knowledge sources and SME internationalization

Abstract

Our thesis focuses on the knowledge that small and medium firms need to internationalize. Our study reviews relevant literature on internationalization and combines several theoretical lenses to take an integrated approach to analyzing how knowledge sources are relevant to SME internationalization. This includes ideas from the knowledge-based view, network theory, theory of international new ventures, upper echelon theory, and organizational learning theory. Thus, our approach is a broader, and high level discussion of how knowledge sources relate to internationalization. Through a mixed-method approach using exploratory surveys and interviews, our analysis helped us create a greater understanding of the knowledge sources involved in knowledge-intensive, high-tech, SME internationalization and resulted in the identification of several key knowledge sources that are thought to be associated with a higher international performance. Customers, international partnerships, prior management and employee international knowledge and experience, and government resources, such as export agencies/consultants, are identified as the most important knowledge sources to consider. It is proposed that optimal combinations of knowledge resources, built using these sources, can enhance firm capabilities, leading SMEs to greater levels of internationalization.