Internationalization driving and hindering factors: the patterns traced in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises are recognized as the country's economic growth and competitiveness fostering factor, thus their internationalization leads and is useful for the country's international reputation, economic growth and social welfare. The last few decades of globalization growth have fundamentally changed the concept of competition, international trade agreements and growing international integration has reduced import barriers in many developed and developing countries. Hence, the firms are forced not only to compete in a highly competitive domestic environment with other firms and seek the expansion in foreign and more distant markets, inevitably getting involved into the process of internationalization. The paper aims to analyse and reveal the factors, driving and hindering internationalization of SMEs. The observation of scientific literature let us suggest few assumptions. Firstly, globalization processes, the enlargement of the EU and the adopted policies, related to SMEs internationalization contributed to the focus of scientists and practitioners on SMEs internationalization. Secondly, global financial crisis prompted further investigations of SMEs internationalization. Further researches have to be related to the application of scientific methods enabling to assess the motives and barriers of SMEs. For instance, multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is seen as the method enabling to get new insights into SMEs internationalization processes and internationalization scope. We believe that our research is beneficial for the managers and policy makers, related to the SMEs activities.