Trade Shows and SME Internationalisation: Networking for Performance

Gerschewski, Stephan; Evers, Natasha; Nguyen, Anh Tuan; Froese, Fabian Jintae

doi:10.1007/s11575-020-00421-y

Cited by 26 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Fourth, there is evidence that industry-related factors, such as competition and maturity, and firm-specific factors, such as size, age, stage of internationalization, and earliness, affect managers’ perceptions of opportunities and challenges in foreign markets (e.g., Aliasghar et al 2019; Gerschewski et al 2020; Gerschewski, Rose, and Lindsay 2015). For example, Gerschewski and Xiao (2015) found evidence that, compared with other firms, international new ventures place more emphasis on financial performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Export Performance: A Contingent Measurement Approach

Sadeghi¹,

Rose²,

Madsen³

2021

Journal of International Marketing

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Despite considerable research on export performance, relatively little scholarly attention has been devoted to incorporating managers’ perspectives into operationalizing this concept. This study proposes a new approach for measuring SMEs’ export performance in the presence of multiple goals that are potentially conflicting, while accounting for different approaches to assessing export performance. Adopting a contingency approach, we develop two customized measures of perceived export performance: the individualized perceived export performance (IPEP) framework and the simplified model. We demonstrate the application of both measures based on a sample of 78 exporting SMEs in New Zealand, and compare the outcomes. The proposed frameworks are intended to measure export performance considering the specific priorities of managers, through explicit incorporation of manager- and firm-specific differences in the types and importance of goals, indicators, and benchmarks. This paper extends our understanding of export performance by proposing a more nuanced and holistic measurement approach that is tailored to individual firms and reflects firm-specific idiosyncrasies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Export Performance: A Contingent Measurement Approach

Sadeghi¹,

Rose²,

Madsen³

2021

Journal of International Marketing

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“…Networking is another critically important mechanism in the international opportunity development process (Evers et al, 2012;Gerschewski et al 2020;Vahlne and Johanson, 2013).…”

Section: International Opportunity Development In the Born Global Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, find that building supplier-seller relationships represents a reactive approach to internationalisation, while engaging in international activities through personal networks can be considered an actively pursued strategy. Thus, network insiders can perform better than outsiders in terms of successful foreign market entry (Almodóvar and Rugman, 2015;Gerschewski et al, 2020) and positive implications in terms of the speed at which firms can achieve insidership and internationalisation (Yamin and Kurt, 2018 (Young et al, 2018). As such, the development of international opportunities by born globals takes place within the institutional context (Lundberg and Rehnfors, 2018;Romanello and Chiarvesio, 2019).…”

Section: International Opportunity Development In the Born Global Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following recent research on the antecedents of maturing born globals, future studies may benefit from analysing the potential relationships between international opportunity development and other determinants, such as international trade shows (e.g., Gerschewski et al, 2020;Khan and Lew, 2018;Ciravegna et al, 2018;Hagen and Zucchella, 2014). For example, future research could focus on variables, such as entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and learning orientation (LO), which can serve as mediators in the international opportunity development process of born globals (Gerschewski et al, 2018;Hagen et al, 2012…”

Section: Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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International opportunity development of born global firms: the role of institutions

Romanello

Karami

Gerschewski

et al. 2021

cpoib

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Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate the international opportunity development process of born global firms embedded in two different institutional contexts: China, an emerging economy and Italy, a developed country. Drawing on the entrepreneurial opportunity literature and institutional theory, this study explores and draws insights into how home country institutions of born globals can influence the international opportunity development process of the firms. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a qualitative case study approach with in-depth, semi-structured interviews of six born global companies from China and Italy. In doing so, this study uses a flexible pattern matching design, which is consistent with the qualitative research design of the paper. Findings The findings of the study indicate that home institutions play an influential, yet differential role in the international opportunity development processes of Chinese and Italian born global firms. While the Italian firms shape their opportunities mainly through product innovation, their Chinese counterparts develop opportunities primarily through networks embedded in their home institutional context. Originality/value The key contributions of the paper relate to an integrated analysis of the international opportunity development process of born globals in China and Italy based on institutional theory, which has received limited attention in the international entrepreneurship literature. In addition, the study advances the similarities and differences in the international opportunity development process in two different countries, thus providing valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners to enter international markets successfully.

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“…Nevertheless, exporting offers SMEs the opportunity to maximize profits (Gkypali et al, 2021). In this regard, trade fairs offer a unique advantage for smaller companies in accessing exports through the generated contacts or business networks (Measson and Campbell-Hunt, 2015;Geldres-Weiss and Monreal-Pérez, 2018;Monreal-Pérez and Geldres-Weiss, 2019;Gerschewski et al, 2020;Kalafsky and Gress, 2020). For instance, by acquiring space in a trade fair (at a reasonable cost), they get a chance to exhibit their products and/or services and establish contacts, same as larger competitors (Silva, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new approach of innovation and network on export in trade fair context: evidence from Portuguese SMEs

Silva

Moutinho

Vale

2021

JBIM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between product innovation and network and their export performance, particularly in trade fair context. Moreover, this paper conducts a comparative study among services/industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and considers the home-country context. Innovation and internationalization are stagnant themes in the recent literature on trade fairs, so they require to be renewed. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study includes a survey with 341 SMEs’ respondents separated into both industrial/producer and service/other. A conceptual model was developed and examined from three different perspectives: Model A encompasses all surveyed SMEs, Model B includes only industrial/producer SMEs and Model C comprises service/other SMEs. Data analysis happened in two steps. The first step included the structural equation model (SEM) and the assessment of hypotheses (from three different perspectives). Thus, it was possible to make a comparative analysis between the models. In the second step, the ordered logit model (OLM) is used to study relationships between control variables and the criteria variable export performance. Findings The SEM’s results confirm a conceptual model about a dynamic trajectory that SMEs, mainly industrial/producer, can take advantage of: innovate to networking and networking to export. The results allowed to verify when comparing services/industrial SMEs that the tangibility which characterizes the innovation of industrial SMEs' products contributed significantly to the performance of business networks and exports. The study also reveals, through the OLM, two catalysts for the success of the SME’s export performance: export experience and continued participation in trade fairs. The OLM results also reveal that the size of the companies is not relevant, so trade fairs are marketing tools accessible to any company, regardless of their size. Finally, the study considered home-country context of the surveyed SMEs, which allowed additional interpretations to be drawn. Research limitations/implications The study does not reflect the individual's personality in his network capacity and the export performance was measured based on the level of satisfaction and not on real sales results. However, the study provides relevant practical implications and can support future studies. Practical implications The study offers important implications for SME. The results reveal that presenting product innovations at trade fairs is a useful tool for SMEs to create networks, which facilitates their export performance, especially for industrial SMEs residing in small economies such as Portugal. This study is also relevant for business associations of industrial SMEs and/or public or semi-public SME promotion agencies. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on trade fairs, suggesting a new innovation, networking, export (INE) framework to reflect on the participation in international trade fairs. So, this research especially combines product INE performance in a particular context – international trade fairs for SME. It also considers the home-country context of the SMEs, which adds depth to the study. Finally, the comparative study also provides insightful implications for industrial SMEs on how to improve the export performance from trade fairs by leveraging innovation and networking.

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Trade Shows and SME Internationalisation: Networking for Performance

Cited by 26 publications

References 87 publications

Perceived Export Performance: A Contingent Measurement Approach

Perceived Export Performance: A Contingent Measurement Approach

International opportunity development of born global firms: the role of institutions

A new approach of innovation and network on export in trade fair context: evidence from Portuguese SMEs

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