Preliminary Insights into SMEs Opportunities and Vulnerabilities in the European Context. A Qualitative Approach

Abstract

The current study aims to theoretically investigate the opportunities and vulnerabilities apposite for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), insisting on the internationalization conditions, and to empirically explore the European initiatives meant to support the SMEs in their various endeavors, from accessing relevant knowledge to deploying successful operations in foreign markets. To this end, a qualitative research was conducted through the case study method. Over 10 European initiatives were described and more than 20 relevant documents available on official European websites were analyzed. The underlying assumption for conducting this study resided in the fact that a better understanding of the European context describing SMEs performance would provide valuable insights to the actors interested in their future business activity, specifically in their cross-border projects and operations. Moreover, a refined outlook would enlarge their vision of the existing opportunities and thus catalyze the process of converting current challenges into positive results.

A Bibliometric Analysis of four Constructs Interconnections: Innovation, Competitive Advantage, Agility and Performance

“…Agility refers to the ability of the team to react quickly and be flexible to unexpected changes, and various studies confirm a positive correlation between agile methods and the innovative ability of companies or the probability of success of innovations (Niewohner et al, 2019;Pînzaru et al, 2016). Thus, developing a detailed plan for each task will increase the innovative efficiency of SMEs (Niewohner et al, 2019;Vătămănescu & Alexandru, 2014, 2018.…”

Connecting the Dots: Exploring the Knowledge-based Antecedents of SMEs’ Profitability and Development via International Ventures

“…Other studies (Senik et al, 2011;Dolfsma and van der Eijk, 2016) list even more barriers, such as the price of their product or service, the high cost of internationalization, the quality of the product and the lack of qualified staff, the specifications of the company's products, and even the language. Insufficient material and financial assets, having to face a lack of managerial competence and know-how in international settings, as well as not being able to adopt a proactive attitude towards internationalization have also been shown to pose difficulties to SMEs that seek to thrive outside the domestic market (Frazier et al, 2009;Vătămănescu, Gorgos and Alexandru, 2018;Vătămănescu and Mitan, 2019). In situations as such, joining relevant business networks, and engaging in informal cooperation, which may trigger innovative organizational structures with new knowledge-based competencies (Bratianu, Hadad and Bejinaru, 2020;Bratianu, Prelipcean and Bejinaru, 2020;Giannacourou et al, 2015), are means to support the internationalization process, that SMEs may choose to adopt.…”

Romanian SMEs Internationalization in the Light of Internal Capabilities and External Conditions. A Secondary Data Analysis

“…Over the past years, both academic studies and real-life examples have iterated the need for consistent frameworks that can assist SMEs managers to make the best of knowledge strategies and practices, methodologies and procedures, techniques and tools, processes and operations in relation to their specific context, especially in view of the internationalization strategies. In this vein, a growing number of conceptual and empirical contributions have commenced to focus on the benefits of capitalizing intangible assets within SMEs and, simultaneously, to uphold the idea that we deal with a poorly understood area of scrutiny to date (Edvardsson & Durst, 2013;Bennet et al, 2015;Le, 2017;Ferraris et al, 2017;Vrontis et al, 2017;Vătămănescu, Gorgos, & Alexandru, 2018). Handling all organizational processes with a higher level of professionalism and proactivity springs as a necessary condition in order to thrive in a very dynamic environment.…”

“…Current investigations (Hutchinson & Quintas, 2008;Gabrielsson et al, 2008;Vătămănescu et al, 2016Vătămănescu et al, , 2017aGorgos, Alexandru, & Vătămănescu, 2019;Vătămănescu et al, 2019) have urged that SMEs lack the proper resources to substantively thrive abroad, especially in terms of material and financial assets, international performance depending on a wide spectrum of factors which should be simultaneously capitalized. Alongside the deficit of material and financial resources, the lack of managerial competence and know-how in international settings emerges as a solid constraint even though adopting a proactive attitude towards international opportunities is liable to generate significant and multifold competitive advantages (Frazier et al, 2009;Vătămănescu, Gorgos, & Alexandru, 2018). The managers' work experience, educational ground and experiential learning increase the right tracking of opportunities (Dimitratos et al, 2012;Volery & Mazzarol, 2015;Choongo et al, 2016;Çakmak & Akgün, 2018).…”