From export entry to de-internationalisation through entrepreneurial attributes

Esteban Lafuente · Maria-Cristina Stoian · Josep Rialp Criado

44 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Small Business and Enterprise Development

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International Business and FDI Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences Global trade and economics

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine export behaviour from a broad perspective considering the influence of entrepreneurial attributes on export entry, export sustainability and de-internationalisation in Romanian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – Based on theoretical underpinnings from the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and the Institutional Economics (IE) framework, the proposed hypotheses are tested with a rich survey data set of 319 Romanian SMEs. The data are analysed by means of a multinomial logit regression. Findings – The study reveals that exporting is not a single event and that variables commonly used to study export propensity linked to the entrepreneurial attributes have a differential influence over the export decisions. More concretely, export entry is positively impacted by the presence of management studies and an entrepreneurial team while sustainment in the international arena is strongly and positively influenced by decision-makers’ prior labour experience. De-internationalisation is explained by the entrepreneurs’ fear of business failure. The conclusions of this study point towards a holistic view of export policy making revealing relevant implications for SMEs’ internationalisation. Originality/value – This study enriches the international business literature by simultaneously examining different export decisions, namely export initiation, sustainability and de-internationalisation, at the SMEs’ level in a Central and Eastern European (CEE) emerging market. The paper also highlights the dynamic character of entrepreneurial resources and suggests that at distinct stages in the international development of a SME, different entrepreneurial attributes may play a significant role.

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References

1991Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage 2004Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage 1990Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance 1991Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance 1995The Theory of the Growth of the Firm 2001Resource-based theories of competitive advantage: A ten-year retrospective on the resource-based view 2005Understanding the process of economic change 1984Specification Tests for the Multinomial Logit Model

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