“…The third major research theme is the study of the locational disadvantages and benefits of (peripheral) border regions in the context of SMEs and their performance (Bański & Janicki, 2013;Braakmann & Vogel, 2010;Francis et al, 2009;Heimpold, 2004;Vaishar, Štastná, Trnka, Dvorák, & Zapletalová, 2013b), which comes closest to the aims of this paper. Three special cases of locational advantages in this discussion are the following: the perceived ease for SMEs in border regions to participate in cross-border networks as a part of planned and unplanned internationalization processes (Çalışkan, Joern, Meijnen, von Moers, & Schapmann, 2006); the benefits of international credit market integration on the financial situation of SMEs in border regions (Fidrmuc & Hainz, 2013); and whether SMEs learn from their cross-border customers in terms of improved service provision and innovation (Weidenfeld, Björk, & Williams, 2016).…”