European SMEs and the Brazilian market

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the importance of networking for Italian and French small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil. Business opportunities in Brazil have attracted a significant amount of interest in recent years. The country is moving towards market orientation, and it has recently experienced higher growth rates. Furthermore, upcoming events, such as the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, are attracting a significant amount of attention given the emergence of potential business opportunities in several sectors. Nevertheless, European companies wishing to enter the Brazilian market should address several constraints, including high barriers to entry, an extensive bureaucracy and a culture quite different from those in Europe. In this context, networking seems to be vital for success. Design/methodology/approach – The data were gathered through a survey undertaken between June and August 2012. After the questionnaire was prepared, each company either received and responded to the questionnaire by e-mail or participated in a telephone interview. The questionnaire included multiple choice questions, most of which used a 5-point Likert scale. Some open-ended questions were included to collect insights from respondents. Representatives of 21 Italian and 24 French SMEs agreed to participate in the survey. Respondents were typically company presidents, chief executive officers or export department managers with experience in the Brazilian market. Findings – The results highlight the importance of social networks for the SMEs interviewed. The establishment of social networks is pivotal for successful business activities in Brazil, as they can help entrants decipher and understand how society and business work. In Brazil, social networks are built through a path-dependent process that requires time, patience and perseverance, as well as an ability to overcome liabilities of sameness. In this regard, a networking process that encompasses specific activities linked to the peculiarities of Brazil is essential, even if it seems to be a second-best solution, as in the case of the QWERTY keyboard. This process, which is the main characteristic of social networking in Brazil, necessitates not only the use of the Internet and information and communications technologies but also face-to-face contacts for building reputation, legitimacy and trust. Originality/value – This paper extends the extant literature by investigating the importance of networking for Italian and French SMEs in Brazil. Brazil serves as an interesting and useful case that can deepen our knowledge about this aspect of international business. As highlighted by Jack et al. (2008) and Ruzzier et al. (2006), the knowledge and understanding of the networking process still suffers from several limitations despite the increased attention paid to this phenomenon.

The impact of entrepreneurs' perceptions and social media usage on their intention to formalise their MSMEs in Egypt

“…For the first two questions, respondents could mark all that applies. For the last question, respondents were given several statements and they were asked to make one choice from a five-point Likert scale, ranging from “1 = strongly disagree” to “5 = strongly agree” (Salvador et al. , 2014).…”

“…For the first two questions, respondents could mark all that applies. For the last question, respondents were given several statements and they were asked to make one choice from a five-point Likert scale, ranging from "1 5 strongly disagree" to "5 5 strongly agree" (Salvador et al, 2014). The third section asked formalisation-related questions; intention of formalisation, where respondents chose between yes/no answer, benefits of formalisation/costs of informality, costs of formalisation/benefits and reasons of informality, including social pressures towards/against formalisation and perceived external control.…”

Social Media Use and its impact on Egyptian MSMEs’ Growth

“…The variables are developed and adopted based on several previous studies (Ainin et al, 2015) and are reflected in the various sections; all using a five-point Likert scale ranging from "1=Strongly Disagree" to "5=Strongly Agree" (Salvador, Pinot de Villechenon, and Rizzo, 2014). The process of data collection was outsourced to an external specialised company and was done through phone interviews during the period from June to September 2019.…”

Through the pyramid: implications of interconnectedness in Africa

“…Social relationships, network theory and social capital in emerging markets have been given great prominence in IB literature (Meyer and Peng, 2016;Peng et al, 2008;Rivera-Santos et al, 2012;Salvador et al, 2014). IB literature in Africa has also emphasized relationships, institutions and resource bases (Zoogah et al, 2015).…”