IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tec/journl/v6y2020i1p160-166.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internationalization of SMEs; Evidence from Mexican Leather Footwear Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Y. D. Cisneros-Reyes
  • D. C. Caldera-Gonzalez
  • M. G. Arredondo-Hidalgo

Abstract

Despite Mexican leather footwear industry is traditional, it has not increased or even maintained the level of competitiveness in the global market; the export problems of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) have been studied by some authors but the internationalization (beyond exports and imports and including foreign direct investment, international subcontracting and international technical cooperation) has not been deeply explored so it is not documented how the process of this economic segment is occurring and if that is evolving accordingly to the theory (E.g. Uppsala model). The objective of this study is to analyze the internationalization of SMEs of the Mexican leather footwear industry to know if accumulated knowledge and experience in foreign markets effectively leads the organization to more advanced and complex stages of international exchange. A survey composed by 47 questions was applied to a sample of 21 SMEs of the Mexican leather footwear industry, their experience was also collected by semi-structured interviews. Results show that SMEs are involved in the internationalization process strongly oriented to the development of exports and imports and only a small number of them have been able to reach the stage of foreign direct investment. These results suggest that internationalization is only conceived in terms of imports and exports and efforts are carried out only to those stages even if SMEs could obtain a great benefit from the rest of the internationalization exchange (FDI, international subcontracting and technical cooperation). This behaviour might be due to some factors as: (1) the relatively low level of competitiveness of the Mexican firms in the global industry, (2) the lack of know-how and (3) the vision of the owners and managers of the company.

Suggested Citation

  • Y. D. Cisneros-Reyes & D. C. Caldera-Gonzalez & M. G. Arredondo-Hidalgo, 2020. "Internationalization of SMEs; Evidence from Mexican Leather Footwear Industry," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 6(1), pages 160-166, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:tec:journl:v:6:y:2020:i:1:p:160-166
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/view/267/131
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/view/267
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Kneller & Mauro Pisu, 2007. "Industrial Linkages and Export Spillovers from FDI," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 105-134, January.
    2. Vas Taras & Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez (ed.), 2015. "The Palgrave Handbook of Experiential Learning in International Business," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-46772-0.
    3. Paul, Justin & Parthasarathy, Sundar & Gupta, Parul, 2017. "Exporting challenges of SMEs: A review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 327-342.
    4. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    5. Leonidou, Leonidas C., 2000. "Barriers to export management: an organizational and internationalization analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 121-148.
    6. A Rebecca Reuber & Eileen Fischer, 1997. "The Influence of the Management Team’s International Experience on the Internationalization Behaviors of SMES," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 28(4), pages 807-825, December.
    7. Ernesto Tavoletti & Corrado Cerruti, 2015. "Connecting Students and Firms to Win in Emerging Markets: The Master in Relations with Eastern Countries," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Vas Taras & Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Experiential Learning in International Business, chapter 38, pages 640-655, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:thr:techub:1006:y:2020:i:1:p:160-166 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Paul, Justin & Parthasarathy, Sundar & Gupta, Parul, 2017. "Exporting challenges of SMEs: A review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 327-342.
    3. Sandberg, Susanne & Sui, Sui & Baum, Matthias, 2019. "Effects of prior market experiences and firm-specific resources on developed economy SMEs' export exit from emerging markets: Complementary or compensatory?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 489-502.
    4. Daniele Cerrato & Mariacristina Piva, 2012. "The internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises: the effect of family management, human capital and foreign ownership," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(4), pages 617-644, November.
    5. Kahiya, Eldrede T., 2018. "Five decades of research on export barriers: Review and future directions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1172-1188.
    6. Paul, Justin, 2020. "SCOPE framework for SMEs: A new theoretical lens for success and internationalization," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 219-230.
    7. Nuno Calheiros-Lobo & José Vasconcelos Ferreira & Manuel Au-Yong-Oliveira, 2023. "SME Internationalization and Export Performance: A Systematic Review with Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-36, May.
    8. Bertrand, Olivier & Betschinger, Marie-Ann & Brea-Solís, Humberto, 2022. "Export barriers for SMEs in emerging countries: A configurational approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 412-423.
    9. Morais, Flávio & Ferreira, João J., 2020. "SME internationalisation process: Key issues and contributions, existing gaps and the future research agenda," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 62-77.
    10. Nadine Levratto & Clarisse Nguedam Ntouko & Maarouf Ramadan, 2017. "Institutions and firms’ internationalization: an empirical analysis on three Middle East countries," EconomiX Working Papers 2017-37, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    11. Acedo, Francisco J. & Coviello, Nicole & Agustí, María, 2021. "Caution ahead! The long-term effects of initial export intensity and geographic dispersion on INV development," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(6).
    12. Sabina Nielsen, 2010. "Top Management Team Internationalization and Firm Performance," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 185-206, April.
    13. D’Angelo, Alfredo & Presutti, Manuela, 2019. "SMEs international growth: The moderating role of experience on entrepreneurial and learning orientations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 613-624.
    14. Kuivalainen, Olli & Saarenketo, Sami & Puumalainen, Kaisu, 2012. "Start-up patterns of internationalization: A framework and its application in the context of knowledge-intensive SMEs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 372-385.
    15. Daniel R Clark & Dan Li & Dean A Shepherd, 2018. "Country familiarity in the initial stage of foreign market selection," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(4), pages 442-472, May.
    16. Schwens, Christian & Kabst, Ruediger, 2011. "Internationalization of young technology firms: A complementary perspective on antecedents of foreign market familiarity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 60-74, February.
    17. Brennan, L. & Garvey, D., 2009. "The role of knowledge in internationalization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 120-133, June.
    18. Lucile Defays & Josée St-Pierre, 2014. "Exporting to non-traditional markets: reducing uncertainty for SMES," Post-Print hal-01704914, HAL.
    19. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Theodosiou, Marios, 2004. "The export marketing information system: an integration of the extant knowledge," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 12-36, February.
    20. Antonia Mercedes García-Cabrera & María Gracia García-Soto & Sonia María Suárez-Ortega, 2017. "Macro-level spillovers and micro-level capabilities as antecedents of young SMEs’ propensity to export and to become a born global," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 1199-1220, December.
    21. Nielsen, Bo Bernhard & Nielsen, Sabina, 2011. "The role of top management team international orientation in international strategic decision-making: The choice of foreign entry mode," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 185-193, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internationalization; SME; Footwear Industry.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tec:journl:v:6:y:2020:i:1:p:160-166. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tasente Tanase (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.