中小企业国际化.docx

中小企业国际化.docx

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中小企业国际化

Thinkingofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprisestodevelopinternationalmarket

LeiLi;DanLi;TevfikDalgic.Internationalizationprocessofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises:

towardahybridmodelofexperientiallearningandplanning[J]ManagementInternationalReview.2004,（44）

Theliteratureshowsthattherearethreebroadtheoreticalperspectivesregardingtheinternationalizationprocessoffirms:

（1）Experientiallearning

（2）Systematicplanning,and（3）Contingencyperspective.Despitetheirimportantcontributions,theseperspectiveshavenotledtoacoherentframeworkthatmayhelpbothscholarsandpractitionerstogainaconvergentunderstandingoftheinternationalizationprocessoffirms.

（1）Thispaperseekstodevelopahybridmodelofinternationalizationprocesswhichreconcilesdifferenttheoreticalperspectives,andbearsnormativeimplicationsformanagers.Inouropinion,theestablishmentofsuchamodelwouldbeparticularlyhelpfulforexaminingtheinternationalizationprocessofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises（SMEs）whichhaveplayedanincreasinglyimportantroleintheinternationalarena.

（2）Therearethreemajorreasons.First,SMEsusuallyhavelimitedresourcestoallocateforinformationandknowledgeacquisitionpertainingtoforeignmarkets.Theycannotaffordtoundertakeathoroughsystematicplanningprocessasbigfirms.Second,SMEsareinternationallyinexperiencedcomparedtolargemultinationalenterprises（MNEs）.Theyfacetheproblemof"unknownunknowns".Third,today'sSMEsinitiatetheirinternationalexpansioninaglobalenvironmentwhichissubstantiallydifferentthantheonefacedbytraditionalMNEstwoorthreedecadesago.Theyoftenhavetorespondtointernationalmarketopportunitiesinaverytimelymanner.

Ingeneral,thesystematicplanningmodelsseemtobeextremelyrational.First,thecentralassumptionofthesemodelsistheviabilityofthoroughandefficientmarketinformationcollectionandanalyses.However,consideringtherecenttrendofquickenedandearlyinternationalizationofSMEsinthepresenceofevadingmarketopportunitiesandturbulentbusinessenvironments（UNCTAD1993,OECD1997）,thevalueoflengthyplanningisincreasinglyquestionable.

Second,fromthebehavioralperspectiveofcorporatedecision-making,manydecisionsmaybemadesimultaneouslyratherthansequentially.Therefore,someoftheproposedsequentialstagesmaynotbedistinguishableincertaincontexts.Third,afirm'sinternationalizationprocessmaybesignificantlyaffectedbyitsmotivationsandinitialcompetencies.

Thesystematicplanningschoolistoo"rational"toincorporatetheneedforexperientiallearning.However,itisclearlycomplementarytothelatter.Ourfundamentalpointisthatexperientiallearningandsystematicplanningaretwoseparatebutsemi-sequentiallyinterrelatedcomponentsintheinternationalizationprocessoffirms.Neglectofeitherwouldbemisleadingtheoreticallyandharmfulinpractice.

Discussions

Thisstudyshowsthateachofthereceivedperspectivesonfirms'internationalizationprocesses,ifitstandsalone,hasafarmorelimitedutilitytopractitionersaswellasresearchers.Wepresentahybridmodelthatnotonlyintegratesexperientiallearningandsystematicplanning,butalsoincorporatesthemorerecentcontingencyperspective.Suchamodelisintendedtohelpbothresearchersandpractitionersinreviewingandanalyzinginternationalizationprocessstrategiesoffirmsfromaholisticperspective.Itshouldbenotedthatalthoughourmodelsharesacentralcontentionwiththecontingencyperspective,itdiffersinsomeimportantaspects.First,weemphasizethatanintegrationofexperientiallearningandsystematicplanningcanprovideamorebalancedviewoftheinternationalizationprocess.Itisnotthattheyarewrong;theyeachonlytellapartialtruth.Combinedtogetherinasemi-sequentialmanner,theycanhaveamuchstrongerexplanatorypower.Second,althoughweagreethatfirms'internationalizationprocessesareessentiallypathdependentandhighlyunpredictable,wecontendthatamodelorframeworkcanbegeneratedtocapturethevarietyofseeminglychaoticandnon-rationalpatterns.Third,wesuggestthatsuchamodelbearsnotonlydescriptivebutalsostrongnormativeimplications..

OurmodelmaybeofparticularrelevancetoSMEs.First,mostlargeMNEshavealreadypassedtheearlystageofinternationalization.Theirfocushasshiftedtothetaskssuchasincreasinghostcountrymarketshares,reconfiguringvalue-addedprocesses,improvingefficiency,andenhancingglobalintra-firmlearningratherthanforeignmarketentries.Thus,ourmodelmaynotbeasessentialtolargeMNEsastoSMEs.

Second,evenwhenlargeMNEsneedtoenternewforeignmarkets,theyusuallyhavethecapacities,routinesandinternationalexperiencetogothroughasystematicplanningprocess.Thisprocessisoftencostlyandtime-consumingbutcouldbeworthwhileconsideringthetypicallylargesizeoftheirforeigninvestments.Incontrast,SMEsneedtobefocusedandflexiblegiventheirrelativepaucityofresources（e.g.,managementtime,Planningstaff,money,etc.）andinternationalexperience.Attimes,aSMEwouldbenefitfromundertakingasystematicplanningprocessifithasaclearedgeintechnologyandproductquality,andhasdiscretiontopickanappropriateforeignmarkettostartitsinternationalcampaign.Othertimes,aSMEmayonlyneedtofocusonacriticalstepintheplanningprocesssuchasthenegotiationandevaluationofentrymode.if,forexample,itmustfollowakeycustomerabroadtoretainthebusiness.Onoccasions,itwouldbewiseforaSMEto"muddlethrough"withincrementalstepswithoutavisibleplanningphaseif,forexample,thefirmisinvolvedinavolatileanduncertainindustry,andhastotakeactionstogainvaluableindustryandmarket-specificinformation,andexploreitsstrategicoptions.Inshort,ourmodeltendstoappealtoSMEsbetterbecauseitcaterstoawiderangeofinternationalizationprocesses.OurmodelbearssomespecificnormativeimplicationsforSMEmanagers.

（1）OurhybridmodelmayserveasaroadmapforSMEs.AlthoughsystematicplanningisoftennotpracticalforSMEs,ad-hocactionsarenotdesirableforthemeither.SMEmanagersmayuseourmodeltopreparefortheirintendedinternationalizationprocessstrategies.Theyshouldfirstexaminetheirmotivationsandexistingcompetencebasecarefully.Then,theyneedtoidentifyandfocusonthecriticalstepsintheinternationalizationprocessanddeploytheirlimitedresourcesaccordingly.Forexample,anindustrialsupplierfollowingitsmajorcustomerabroadmaywanttospecificallystudythesuppliers'marketinthehostcountryandthefeasibilityofformingajointventurewithitscustomerasJapanesecompanieshavepracticed.

（2）SMEs'internationalexpansionisoftentriggeredbyexternalad-hocsignalssuchastheactivitiesofcustomers,suppliers,orpartners.Moreover,SMEsarenotmuchfetteredbybureaucracyandhierarchicalthinking.Topmanagers'personalinitiativescanoftendriveinternationalizationatanacceleratedpace,especiallyforinnovation-orientedSMEs.Comparedtoexperientiallearningandsystematicplanningmodels,ourhybridmodelisrelativelyflexibleinthesensethattheprocessisneitherpredeterminednorlinearlysequential.Thus,itmayassistSMEmanagersinweighingonemergentinternationalizationprocessesand/ormakingsenseoutofcompetitors'internationalizationstrategies.

（3）Ourmodelshowsthatafirm'sinternationalizationprocessisiterative.Eachphase（e.g.,antecedents）receivesperiodicfeedbacksfromitssubsequentphases（e.g.,planningandexecution）.SMEmanagersfacedifferentoptionsandconstraintsfromoneiterativeprocesstoanother.OurmodelhasapotentialtohelpSMEmanagerstoidentifysensiblepathsineachiterativeprocesstoavoidseriousblundersorwastedefforts.

Ourmodelalsobearsafewimplicationsforfutureresearch.First,itmayserveasaplatformbasedonwhichresearcherscanconceiveandbuildmoresophisticatedinternationalizationprocessmodels.Forexample,wehaveonlyspecifiedtwoantecedentsofinternationalization:

Motivationandcorporatecompetence.Thereisplentyofroomforinformedscholarstodefineanddeveloptheantecedentphasemoresystematically.Moreover,ourmodelleavesoutenvironmentalfactorssuchasindustrialcharacteristicsandhome/hostcountryeffectsthatcanbesalientforSMEs.Itwouldbeinterestingtoseehowthebusinessenvironmentmaybeexplicitlyincorporatedintoourhybridmodel.

Second,scholarsmayidentifymanyspecificempiricalresearchissuesfromourmodel.Forexample,onemayexaminehowthedisparityofmotivationsandcorporatecompetenciesmayleadtodivergentinternationalizationprocessesforSMEs.Althoughmotivationandcompetencehavebeenaddressedextensivelyinforeigndirectinvestment（FDI）literature,theyaremuchmoreoftenreferredtoinconnectionwithFDIdirection,location,andentrymodethanwithinternationalizationprocesses.Onemayraisespecificallysuchunansweredquestions:

（1）Givenacertainmotivation（e.g.,marketseeking,customerfollowing,ortechnology/resourcesacquiring）,howmightaSME'scompetencelevelaffectitschoicebetweenexperientiallearningandsystematicplanningaswellasitsdegreeofcommitmentintheexecutionphase?

（2）Givenacertainlevelofcompetence,howwouldSMEswithvariousmotivationsselectdifferentinternationalizationprocesses?

Third,asnotedearlier,today'sSMEsfaceaglobalbusinessenvironmentvastlydifferentfromtheoneinwhichtraditionalMNEswereinitiallyinvolved.Yet,weknowlittlespecificsre