Understanding small and medium-sized entrepreneurs' export motivations: an integrative cognition approach

Drawing from two cognitive theories (i.e., values theory and theory of planned behaviour), this study proposes a theoretically driven integrated model to offer entrepreneurship scholars a richer understanding of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs' psychological process of how their individualistic values are translated to export intention to new markets. Survey data from 243 Malaysian owners and managers of food and beverages companies were analysed with the structural equation modelling technique. The theoretically driven integrative model is empirically supported. Specifically, intrinsic motivations of self-direction and stimulation drive small and medium-sized entrepreneurs' export intentions to new markets, suggesting small and medium-sized entrepreneurs' goals of self-actualisation, self-development, growth and self-expansion. The proposed integrative model extends existing entrepreneurship theory and research and contributes to a more sophisticated theoretical model of the entrepreneurial process, that is, extended form of the theory of planned behaviour. The findings are valuable in forming the necessary basis for encouraging and developing entrepreneurial internationalisation activities.