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SME internationalisation: Do the types of innovation matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Boumediene Ramdani
  • Fateh Belaid

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Stéphane Goutte

    (SOURCE - SOUtenabilité et RésilienCE - UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - IRD [France-Nord] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)

Abstract

Existing evidence suggest that innovative Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (or SMEs) are more likely to internationalise (i.e. have a greater propensity to export) than non-innovative SMEs. However, it is not yet clear whether and to what extent different types of innovation (i.e. product, service, and process) affect SME internationalisation. To address this issue, this study uses a research model that integrates the resource and institutional perspectives and empirically test it using data from the United Kingdom (UK) Longitudinal Small Business Survey. Our results confirm that SME internationalisation is more likely to occur in firms undertaking product innovation than process and/or service innovation, and a specific configuration of resource and institutional drivers influence SME internationalisation depending on the innovation type. These results lead to major policy and managerial implications in relation to promoting SME internationalisation through different types of innovation, given the UK withdrawal from the European Union.

Suggested Citation

  • Boumediene Ramdani & Fateh Belaid & Stéphane Goutte, 2023. "SME internationalisation: Do the types of innovation matter?," Post-Print hal-04191640, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04191640
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102681
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