Ready to export? The role of export readiness for superior export performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises

Abstract

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Banks' support for the development of internationalization in Brazil: a perspective from Brazilian export companies

“…The study showed that there are significant differences according to company size in access to credit in both public and private banking. These results follow the literature, which has indicated that a company's size is a key variable in the export process (Gerschewski et al, 2020). Bekteshi's (2020) work verified that a company's size is positively and significantly related to its export performance, which indicates the importance of economies of scale in the development of exports, particularly in access to credit (Okafor et al, 2020).…”

Effective Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Import Strategy: Its Drivers, Moderators, and Outcomes

“…Internationalizing through imports provides a useful strategic option for many firms to identify and exploit opportunities for products, parts, or raw materials available in foreign countries that can have a promising sales potential in their domestic market (Grosse and Fonseca 2012). This is particularly critical for SMEs, because in this way they can (1) complement their limited internal resources, knowledge, and skills with those of foreign suppliers (Gerschewski, Scott-Kennel, and Rose 2020); (2) access a wider range and better quality of technological inputs that can increase their level of innovativeness and productivity (Castillejo et al 2020); (3) broaden the breadth and depth of merchandise offered to their customers beyond the limits of existing domestic products and brands (Nucci, Pietrovito, and Pozzolo 2020); and (4) strengthen their network position and credibility in the domestic market through business connections with suppliers from abroad (Mahamadou 2021).…”

“…Second, this study was conducted among SME importers, which, although characterized by greater flexibility, more simple organizational structures, and faster response, possess limited financial, human, technological, and allied resources (Gerschewski, Scott-Kennel, and Rose 2020). Thus, it would be illuminating to extend our analysis to cover larger import organizations that have abundant internal resources, economies-of-scale advantages, and high bargaining power (Mittelstaedt, Raymond, and Ward 2006).…”

“…In addition, whereas other studies (e.g., Defever and Toubal 2013; Von Haartman and Bengtsson 2015) have mainly examined the import strategy of MNEs or large organizations, which are responsible for only a small proportion of imports in most countries (OECD 2020), our study focuses on SMEs, which collectively represent the driving force of a country's imports. In fact, importing represents an opportunity for SMEs to complement their limited resources, develop new capabilities, and acquire new knowledge and technology, that have a positive impact on their business performance (Gerschewski, Scott-Kennel, and Rose 2020). However, at the same time, they have to act strategically to cope with increased risks and uncertainties when purchasing from abroad (Cruz, Baghdadi, and Arouri 2021).…”

Perceived export performance: The invisible part of the iceberg

“…Yet, objective measures per se may not be able to fully represent a firm's performance, because they do not reflect the critical strategic aspects of performance (Wach, Stephan, & Gorgievski, 2016;Walker & Brown, 2004). Subjective performance assessment is particularly important for SMEs that are typically characterized by highly centralized and individualized leaderships that rely on the championing manager for decision-making (Elbanna et al, 2020;Gerschewski, Scott-Kennel, & Rose, 2020).…”