IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-03216166.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Pre-Internationalization and Performance Conditions of First-Time Exporting SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre-Xavier Meschi

    (CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon)

  • Antonin Ricard

    (CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon, AMU IAE - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Aix-en-Provence - AMU - Aix Marseille Université)

  • Ernesto Tapia Moore

    (KEDGE Business School [Marseille])

Abstract

This article aims to determine whether pre-internationalization conditions improve the performance of first-time exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Two pre-internationalization conditions are discussed here: firm performance and age at internationalization. Building on the aspiration-level performance model of March and Shapira (1992) with sequential internationalization and international new-ventures approaches, this article develops two research hypotheses proposing an effective alignment with pre-internationalization performance and age at internationalization. These research hypotheses are examined using a panel database of 522 French SMEs that began export operations for the first time in 2014. The statistical results partially support our first hypothesis by showing that early-internationalizing SMEs with a lower performance relative to their peers significantly increase their post-internationalization performance. Contrary to what we predicted in our second hypothesis, we observe that late-internationalizing SMEs, which deliver a much higher performance than their historical aspirations, significantly reduce their post-internationalization performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre-Xavier Meschi & Antonin Ricard & Ernesto Tapia Moore, 2021. "Pre-Internationalization and Performance Conditions of First-Time Exporting SMEs," Post-Print hal-03216166, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03216166
    DOI: 10.37725/mgmt.v24i1.4507
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://amu.hal.science/hal-03216166
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://amu.hal.science/hal-03216166/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.37725/mgmt.v24i1.4507?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kent Eriksson & Jan Johanson & Anders Majkgård & D. Deo Sharma, 2000. "Effect of Variation on Knowledge Accumulation in the Internationalization Process," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 26-44, March.
    2. Rodrigo Bandeira-De-Mello & Pervez Ghauri & Ulrike Mayrhofer & Pierre-Xavier Meschi, 2015. "South-South and South-North expansion strategies: What are the theoretical and empirical implications for research in management?," Post-Print hal-01139289, HAL.
    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. Pierre-Xavier Meschi & Antonin Ricard & Ernesto Tapia Moore, 2020. "Pre-Internationalization and Performance Conditions of First-Time Exporting SMEs [Conditions pré-Internationalisation et performance des PME primo-exportatrices]," Post-Print hal-03082746, HAL.
    2. Meschi, Pierre-Xavier & Ricard, Antonin & Tapia Moore, Ernesto, 2017. "Fast and Furious or Slow and Cautious? The Joint Impact of Age at Internationalization, Speed, and Risk Diversity on the Survival of Exporting Firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 279-291.
    3. Kotler, Philip & Manrai, Lalita A. & Lascu, Dana-Nicoleta & Manrai, Ajay K., 2019. "Influence of country and company characteristics on international business decisions: A review, conceptual model, and propositions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 482-498.
    4. Cláudia P. Ribau & António C. Moreira & Mário Raposo, 2017. "SMEs innovation capabilities and export performance: an entrepreneurial orientation view," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(5), pages 920-934, September.
    5. Martín Martín, Oscar & Chetty, Sylvie & Bai, Wensong, 2022. "Foreign market entry knowledge and international performance: The mediating role of international market selection and network capability," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(2).
    6. Lindstrand, Angelika & Eriksson, Kent & Sharma, D. Deo, 2009. "The perceived usefulness of knowledge supplied by foreign client networks," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 26-37, February.
    7. Sabina Tasheva & Bo Bernhard Nielsen, 0. "The role of global dynamic managerial capability in the pursuit of international strategy and superior performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    8. Idris, Bochra & Saridakis, George & Khan, Zaheer, 2022. "The Effect of Outward and Inward Internationalisation on Different Types of Innovation: Evidence from UK SMEs," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2).
    9. Hernández, Virginia & Nieto, María Jesús, 2016. "Inward–outward connections and their impact on firm growth," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 296-306.
    10. Eric W. K. Tsang, 2020. "Family firms and internationalization: An organizational learning perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 205-225, March.
    11. Umar Burki & Richard Glavee-Geo & Robert Dahlstrom & Renger Kanani & Arnt Buvik, 2023. "The moderating effect of market knowledge on contractual efficacy: evidence from Asian supplier–Western buyer relationships," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(4), pages 1454-1484, September.
    12. Foroudi, Pantea & Gupta, Suraksha & Patel, Parth & Batsakis, Georgios & Vaatanen, Juha & Czinkota, Michael, 2023. "The effect of home country characteristics on the internationalization of EMNEs: The moderating role of knowledge stock," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    13. Sun, Jinyun & Wang, Stephanie L. & Luo, Yadong, 2018. "Strategic entry or strategic exit? International presence by emerging economy enterprises," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 418-430.
    14. Martínez-Román, Juan A. & Gamero, Javier & Delgado-González, María de Loreto & Tamayo, Juan A., 2019. "Innovativeness and internationalization in SMEs: An empirical analysis in European countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    15. Montoro-Sanchez, Angeles & Diez-Vial, Isabel & Belso-Martinez, Jose Antonio, 2018. "The evolution of the domestic network configuration as a driver of international relationships in SMEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 727-736.
    16. Araujo, Luis & Rezende, Sergio, 2003. "Path dependence, MNCs and the internationalisation process: a relational approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 719-737, December.
    17. Vincenza Odorici & Manuela Presutti, 2013. "The entrepreneurial experience and strategic orientation of high-tech born global start-ups: An analysis of novice and habitual entrepreneurs," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 268-291, September.
    18. Chakrabarty, Subhajit & Nag, Biswajit, 2014. "Perceptions of international trade barriers: Empirical study of small apparel firms," MPRA Paper 52635, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Freixanet, Joan & Renart, Gemma, 2020. "A capabilities perspective on the joint effects of internationalization time, speed, geographic scope and managers’ competencies on SME survival," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(6).
    20. Petersen, Bent & Pedersen, Torben & Sharma, Deo, 2001. "The Role of Knowledge in Firms’ internationalization Process: Wherefrom and Whereto," Working Papers 17-2001, Copenhagen Business School, Department of International Economics and Management.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Aspiration-level performance model; Early internationalization; First-time exporting SME; Internationalization process; Late internationalization; Social and historical aspirations;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:hal:journl:hal-03216166. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.