دانلود رایگان مقاله کسب دانش برای شرکت متوسط برای اولین بار ورود به کشور در حال توسعه

Abstract

As developing economies have weak institutional environments, and these are highly distant from SMEs’ home conditions in developed economies, those firms entering into developing economies should acquire new knowledge resources for a successful entry. In this paper, we analyze the type of knowledge required by SMEs to enter a foreign market, the alternative sources for acquiring that knowledge, and the specific challenges associated with the case of SMEs from developed economies in their first entry in developing economies. In our empirical work, we examined the specific case of Spanish SMEs entering Senegal as a first incursion in developing economies. This work shows evidence of usefulness to contribute to literature. Specifically, we found that the key knowledge is that which is specific to the target market, rather than the general knowledge about internationalization. In addition, we provide a matrix that summarizes the most appropriate sources to acquire each type of knowledge in the light of the main challenges identified: myopic managerial thinking, inflexible managers, absence of a culture of cooperation, and relevant knowledge embedded in local networks of the host market.

Conclusions

This paper analyzes the types of knowledge SMEs from a developed economy require for a first entry in a developing economy ever, the most used sources for acquiring that knowledge, and the challenges they face in this knowledge acquisition process. Evidence from our qualitative study of the case of Spanish SMEs entering Senegal as their first entry in a developing economy offers preliminary support to some knowledge requirements, sources of knowledge, and challenges identified by previous literature. Also, this work helps discriminate the relevance of each type of knowledge, knowledge sources and challenges that SMEs face when entering a particular developing economy for the first time. As a result, contributions are offered to the international business literature. First, our empirical work suggest that the relevance of each type of knowledge, challenge, and sources involved in the process of knowledge acquisition is contingent upon the specific pair of countries involved. It is not just a question of national culture and institutions of the home and the host country, nor the specific distances between them, that of course are relevant. It is also a matter of the affinities and feelings between the parties. Hence, research in the international business field focused on this topic could benefit from the analyses of various cases involving different developing–developed country combinations before general models can be proposed to explain this phenomenon. Second, with respect to knowledge requirements, our work suggests thatitis market-specific knowledge and particularly institutional, opportunity recognition, and business ones, the types of knowledge that are really relevant when entering a developing market for the first time. The specific content of knowledge to be acquired will depend on the particular home and host countries. However, because SMEs are frequently unaware of the marketspecific risks and transactions costs within each industry in a given developing market, as these risks and costs are almost inexistent in developed economies, being advised about these aspects of the business knowledge can be considered of high relevance to enter any developing country.