SMEs' international markets entry: testing the theory with Portuguese evidence

This research aims to test a number of hypothesis related to the process of business international entry, based on empirical evidence collected from SMEs located in the Region of Vale do Tâmega e Sousa (VT%S). This Portuguese area lacks empirical studies, although the entrepreneurial activity of the region is very dynamic. The methodology adopted includes the administration of a survey to firms located in the region, where 184 valid observations were collected. This data allowed to test six hypothesis found in the literature, related to the process of international entry and motivations and barriers associated. Our results allowed confirming that the theoretical perspectives provided by the Uppsala model and the network theory could be confirmed and that they have a considerable application to the entrepreneurial reality of the region. It was also possible to observe that the selection of the entry modes was influenced by the motives or opportunities present in the foreign markets. Finally, there are statistically significant differences on the motivations for international entry and on the perceived barriers to enter the international markets when comparing the three groups of firms used in this work.