Purpose Building upon the insights of the resource-based view and internationalization theories, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role networks play in SMEs' readiness for internationalization. By investigating three different types of knowledge sharing, namely economic-setting, market-specific and customer-specific, the study analyzes their effect on SMEs' readiness for internationalization. Design/methodology/approach The four research hypotheses derived by from the analysis of the literature have been investigated by applying the multiple regression technique. By means of an online survey, 300 valid questionnaires were collected and information from a sample of Italian SMEs belonging to 11 agro-food consortia have been analyzed. Findings The results suggest that SMEs' readiness for internationalization could be supported by sharing customer-specific, market-specific and economic-setting knowledge with other firms operating within the same agro-food consortium. Additionally, data analysis highlights a negative relation between the risk perception in the process and readiness for internationalization, suggesting the importance of knowledge sharing in reducing the criticality issues of being a newcomer entering international markets. Originality/value From a theoretical perspective, this study aims to fill the gap in knowledge management and international relationship marketing literature. Since proposes a combination of different kinds of knowledge that contribute to reducing the criticalities SMEs must face by identifying useful information to be conveyed within the network. From a managerial perspective, the study provides useful insights for the agro-food sector, highlighting how experiential and network knowledge constitutes a pre-condition for managing internationalization complexity and discovering opportunities on foreign markets.

Magni, D., Chierici, R., Fait, M., Lefebvre, K. (2022). A network model approach to enhance knowledge sharing for internationalization readiness of SMEs. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING REVIEW, 39(3), 626-652 [10.1108/IMR-03-2021-0110].

A network model approach to enhance knowledge sharing for internationalization readiness of SMEs

Chierici, Roberto;
2022

Abstract

Purpose Building upon the insights of the resource-based view and internationalization theories, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role networks play in SMEs' readiness for internationalization. By investigating three different types of knowledge sharing, namely economic-setting, market-specific and customer-specific, the study analyzes their effect on SMEs' readiness for internationalization. Design/methodology/approach The four research hypotheses derived by from the analysis of the literature have been investigated by applying the multiple regression technique. By means of an online survey, 300 valid questionnaires were collected and information from a sample of Italian SMEs belonging to 11 agro-food consortia have been analyzed. Findings The results suggest that SMEs' readiness for internationalization could be supported by sharing customer-specific, market-specific and economic-setting knowledge with other firms operating within the same agro-food consortium. Additionally, data analysis highlights a negative relation between the risk perception in the process and readiness for internationalization, suggesting the importance of knowledge sharing in reducing the criticality issues of being a newcomer entering international markets. Originality/value From a theoretical perspective, this study aims to fill the gap in knowledge management and international relationship marketing literature. Since proposes a combination of different kinds of knowledge that contribute to reducing the criticalities SMEs must face by identifying useful information to be conveyed within the network. From a managerial perspective, the study provides useful insights for the agro-food sector, highlighting how experiential and network knowledge constitutes a pre-condition for managing internationalization complexity and discovering opportunities on foreign markets.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Agro-food sector; Entrepreneurial ecosystem; Internationalization; Knowledge sharing; Network; New ventures;
English
19-ago-2021
2022
39
3
626
652
open
Magni, D., Chierici, R., Fait, M., Lefebvre, K. (2022). A network model approach to enhance knowledge sharing for internationalization readiness of SMEs. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING REVIEW, 39(3), 626-652 [10.1108/IMR-03-2021-0110].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/324857
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