IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jadmsc/v14y2024i8p159-d1440827.html

Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Best Practices and the Emerging Concept of Foreign Champion, an Empirical Investigation

Author

Listed:
  • Nuno Calheiros-Lobo

    (Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

  • Ana Palma-Moreira

    (School of Psychology, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Rua do Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal
    APPsyCI—Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities & Inclusion, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, R. do Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisbon, Portugal
    Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Europeia, Quinta do Bom Nome, Estr. da Correia 53, 1500-210 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Manuel Au-Yong-Oliveira

    (Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
    Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • José Vasconcelos Ferreira

    (Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

Abstract

This article introduces a new theoretical concept, the “foreign champion”, which attempts to solve the principal–agent problem and improve academic understanding of foreign market entry decisions by analyzing what experts in the field consider to be best practices. Based on empirical research into the determinants of SME internationalization success, semi-structured interviews (n = 12, t = 5 h 10 min.) were conducted with industry experts, including one academic, government officials, chamber and association leaders, a venture capitalist, and several CEOs, and key testimonies were studied using qualitative analysis software. The results shed light on effective internationalization strategies and common market entry mistakes. Despite the perception of saturation, the prominence of the experts, and the large sample, there may be limitations, such as not covering several regions. The originality of this study lies in its conceptual framework, the insights gained from the select interviews, and a new concept of foreign market entry.

Suggested Citation

  • Nuno Calheiros-Lobo & Ana Palma-Moreira & Manuel Au-Yong-Oliveira & José Vasconcelos Ferreira, 2024. "Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Best Practices and the Emerging Concept of Foreign Champion, an Empirical Investigation," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:14:y:2024:i:8:p:159-:d:1440827
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/8/159/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/8/159/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agrawal, Arun, 2001. "Common Property Institutions and Sustainable Governance of Resources," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1649-1672, October.
    2. John W Cadogan & Adamantios Diamantopoulos & Charles Pahud de Mortanges, 1999. "A Measure of Export Market Orientation: Scale Development and Cross-cultural Validation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(4), pages 689-707, December.
    3. Editors The, 2007. "From the Editors," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 1-5, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nuno Calheiros-Lobo & Ana Palma-Moreira & Manuel Au-Yong-Oliveira & José Vasconcelos Ferreira, 2025. "Entity-Relationship Mapping of 184 SME Internationalization Success Determinants for AI Feature Engineering: Integrating CSR, Deep Learning, and Stakeholder Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-33, September.

    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. Haque, A.B.M. Mahfuzul & Visser, Leontine E. & Dey, Madan M., 2011. "Institutional Arrangements in Seasonal Floodplain Management under Community-based Aquaculture in Bangladesh," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 8(01), pages 1-19, June.
    2. Misty L Heggeness & Donna K Ginther & Maria I Larenas & Frances D Carter-Johnson, 2023. "Advancing biomedical science through investments in elite training," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(2), pages 1-23, February.
    3. Purnamita Dasgupta, 2007. "Common Property Resources as Development Drivers: A Study of Fruit Cooperative in Himachal Pradesh: India," Working Papers id:917, eSocialSciences.
    4. Sylvester Ngome Chisika & Chunho Yeom, 2021. "Enhancing Sustainable Management of Public Natural Forests Through Public Private Partnerships in Kenya," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, October.
    5. Laurent, Catherine E. & Berriet-Solliec, Marielle & Kirsch, Marc & Labarthe, Pierre & Trouve, Aurelie, 2010. "Multifunctionality Of Agriculture, Public Policies And Scientific Evidences: Some Critical Issues Of Contemporary Controversies," APSTRACT: Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, AGRIMBA, vol. 4(01-2), pages 1-6.
    6. Fabio Salamanca-Buentello & Mary V Seeman & Abdallah S Daar & Ross E G Upshur, 2020. "The ethical, social, and cultural dimensions of screening for mental health in children and adolescents of the developing world," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-25, August.
    7. Joshi, P. K. & Pangare, V. & Shiferaw, B. & Wani, S. P. & Bouma, Jetske & Scott, Christopher, 2004. "Socioeconomic and policy research on watershed management in India: synthesis of past experiences and needs for future research," IWMI Research Reports H035345, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Adilson Carlos Yoshikuni & José Eduardo Ricciardi Favaretto & Alberto Luiz Albertin & Fernando de Souza Meirelles, 2022. "How can Strategy-as-Practice Enable Innovation under the Influence of Environmental Dynamism?," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 26(1), pages 200131-2001.
    9. Paola Gatti & Chiara Ghislieri & Claudio G Cortese, 2017. "Relationships between followers’ behaviors and job satisfaction in a sample of nurses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Maryati, Sri & Firman, Tommy & Humaira, An Nisaa Siti, 2022. "A sustainability assessment of decentralized water supply systems in Bandung City, Indonesia," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Arts, Bas & de Koning, Jessica, 2017. "Community Forest Management: An Assessment and Explanation of its Performance Through QCA," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 315-325.
    12. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/eu4vqp9ompqllr09hi4ijb1r1 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Okumu, Boscow & Muchapondwa, Edwin, 2017. "Determinants of Successful Collective Management of Forest Resources: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations," EfD Discussion Paper 17-11, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    14. Eloi Laurent, 2010. "Environmental justice and environmental inequalities: a European perspective," Post-Print hal-03415995, HAL.
    15. Andrea Lučić, 2020. "Measuring Sustainable Marketing Orientation—Scale Development Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, February.
    16. Meyer, Leandro Fredrico Ferraz & Braga, Marcelo Jose, 2009. "Fear or Greed? Duty or Solidarity? Motivations and Stages of Moral Reasoning: Experimental Evidences from Public-Goods Provision Dilemmas," Working Papers in Applied Economics 53249, Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Departamento de Economia Rural.
    17. Dinesh Dhakal & David O’Brien & Peter Mueser, 2021. "Government Policy and Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case Study in Chitwan District, Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-20, November.
    18. Peter Kuhn & Marie-Claire Villeval, 2011. "Do Women Prefer a Co-operative Work Environment?," Working Papers 1127, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Etienne (GATE Lyon St-Etienne), Université de Lyon.
    19. Agrawal, Arun & Yadama, Gautam & Andrade, Raul & Bhattacharya, Ajoy, 2006. "Decentralization and Environmental Conservation: Gender Effects From Participation in Joint Forest Management," CAPRi Working Papers 42494, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Schultz, Bill, 2020. "Resource management and joint-planning in fragmented societies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    21. D. K. Choudhury, 2019. "Standard Critical Path and Selection of Most Economic and Quality Contractors for Construction of Thermal Power Plant: A Case Study in NTPC," Metamorphosis: A Journal of Management Research, , vol. 18(2), pages 103-118, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:gam:jadmsc:v:14:y:2024:i:8:p:159-:d:1440827. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.