In search of early and rapid internationalization among italian SMEs: an exploratory study

Journal title ECONOMIA E SOCIETÀ REGIONALE
Author/s Rubina Romanello
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2017/1
Language Italian Pages 23 P. 99-121 File size 405 KB
DOI 10.3280/ES2017-001008
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In the late Eighties, some academics noted the existence of firms that begin exporting soon after their foundation and rapidly increase their expansion in multiple countries, the so called born globals. Since then, these companies emerged as successful companies in the international landscape and captured the interest of academics, practitioners and policy makers. The literature has widely analyzed different topics related to early and rapid inter-nationalization and, after long focusing on their entry-phase, has recently approached the long-term growth of born globals. The study explores the phenomenon of early and rapid internationalization among a sample of manufacturing small and medium sized companies located in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna and Veneto. Among the results, the analysis reveals that better performing exporters had founders internationally experienced, marketing capabilities in international markets and were more aggressive towards interna-tional markets in terms of initial export share.

Keywords: Drivers, Performance, Early Internationalization, SMEs

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Rubina Romanello, Alla ricerca dell’internazionalizzazione precoce e rapida fra le PMI italiane: uno studio esplorativo in "ECONOMIA E SOCIETÀ REGIONALE " 1/2017, pp 99-121, DOI: 10.3280/ES2017-001008