IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jbemgt/v16y2015i1p52-73.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the relationship between firm size, resources, age at entry and internationalization: the case of Slovenian SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Mitja Ruzzier
  • Maja Konecnik Ruzzier

Abstract

Export marketing and international business literature support the view that firm size-a reflection of number of employees, and sales-is positively related to export intensity and is a distinguishing factor between internationalized and non-internationalized firms. According to the resource-based view heterogeneous resource profiles that enable firms to achieve competitive advantage in international markets may be also such differentiating factors. On the other hand, as a result of the process of globalization and the increasing number of born global firms, firm age at entry into foreign markets is becoming negatively related to internationalization. Our findings just partly confirm the trends above. Using a regression model on the selected sample of 247 Slovenian small and medium enterprises, we have confirmed the hypotheses that internationalized companies are significantly larger (in terms of sales) and have more specialized resources (human, organizational, and financial resources) than non-internationalized companies. Organizational and human resources and the number of employees were positively and significantly related, while the age of companies at the start of their international activities was negatively related, to the extent of companies' internationalization. Different implications and conclusions for researchers and entrepreneurs are derived.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitja Ruzzier & Maja Konecnik Ruzzier, 2015. "On the relationship between firm size, resources, age at entry and internationalization: the case of Slovenian SMEs," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 52-73, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jbemgt:v:16:y:2015:i:1:p:52-73
    DOI: 10.3846/16111699.2012.745812
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.3846/16111699.2012.745812
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.3846/16111699.2012.745812?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Morais, Flávio & Ferreira, João J., 2020. "SME internationalisation process: Key issues and contributions, existing gaps and the future research agenda," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 62-77.
    2. Bongsuk Sung & Woo-Yong Song, 2021. "Are Political Factors More Relevant Than Economic Factors in Firm-Level Renewable Energy Technology Export? Evidence from Path Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Xie, Qunyong, 2023. "Firm size and Chinese firms' internationalization speed in advanced and developing countries: The moderating effects of marketization and inward FDI," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    4. Eduardo Saucedo & Jorge Gonzalez, 2021. "Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Prices in Mexico: A Study of the Main Border and Non-Border Cities," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 16(2), pages 1-24, Abril - J.
    5. Ranajoy Bhattacharyya & Ripudaman Bhardwaj, 2022. "The Effect of Coronavirus Pandemic on the Rupee Dollar Exchange Rate," Working Papers 2264, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
    6. Sugandha Huria & Kriti Sharma & Neha Jain & Ashley Jose, 2022. "Digitalization and Exports: A case of Indian Manufacturing MSMEs," Working Papers 2261, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
    7. Karthik, D. & Upadhyayula, Rajesh & Basant, Rakesh, 2015. "Strategic Paths and Performance of Born Globals: A Study of Indian IT Firms," IIMA Working Papers WP2015-03-36, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    8. Musa Abdu & Babangida Muhammad Musa & Adamu Jibir, 2022. "Firm-level study of the drivers of internationalization of small- and medium-scale enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(6), pages 1-25, June.
    9. Abdul Rashid & M. Kabir Hassan & Hafsa Karamat, 2021. "Firm size and the interlinkages between sales volatility, exports, and financial stability of Pakistani manufacturing firms," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(1), pages 111-134, March.
    10. S Thayyil & P M Habeeburahiman, 2022. "Determinants of SEZ Units' Export Performance and the Mediating Effects of Commitment, Knowledge and Capabilities," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 27(2), pages 87-103, September.
    11. Eduardo Saucedo & Jorge Gonzalez, 2021. "Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Prices in Mexico: A Study of the Main Border and Non-Border Cities," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 16(2), pages 1-24, Abril - J.
    12. Pongelli, Claudia & Majocchi, Antonio & Bauweraerts, Jonathan & Sciascia, Salvatore & Caroli, Matteo & Verbeke, Alain, 2023. "The impact of board of directors’ characteristics on the internationalization of family SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    13. Gladys Mireya Valero Córdoba & Manuel Rodenes & Gladys Elena Rueda, 2016. "La internacionalización de las empresas exportadoras. Estado de la cuestión," Revista Lebret, Universidad Santo Tomás - Bucaramanga, vol. 8, pages 127-147, December.
    14. Biru, Ashenafi & Filatotchev, Igor & Bruton, Garry & Gilbert, David, 2023. "CEOs’ regulatory focus and firm internationalization: The moderating effects of CEO overconfidence, narcissism and career horizon," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(3).
    15. Ipsmiller, Edith & Dikova, Desislava, 2021. "Internationalization from Central and Eastern Europe: A systematic literature review," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(4).
    16. Ankur Roy & Chandra Sekhar & Vishal Vyas, 2016. "Barriers to internationalization: A study of small and medium enterprises in India," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 513-538, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:jbemgt:v:16:y:2015:i:1:p:52-73. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/TBEM20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.