Trade liberalization offers exporting opportunities for firms around the world. However, little i... more Trade liberalization offers exporting opportunities for firms around the world. However, little is known if firms export as a strategy for leveraging their competitive advantages in the local market into the international level. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of competitive advantages in the local market on the export intention of manufacturing-based small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy. In particular, we test hypotheses on generic competitive advantages of cost, differentiation, focus, and integrated advantages on a sample of 140 SMEs in Malaysia. Using OLS regression, the results depict that differentiation, focus and integrated differentiation-focus advantages encourage firms to export. However, cost advantage does not significantly affect the export intention, while integrated cost-focus advantage holds firms back from going abroad. This study contributes by defining the types of competitive advantages in the local market that enco...
Understanding the internationalization process of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is imp... more Understanding the internationalization process of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is imperative for emerging economies to compete globally. Empirical findings of SMEs from emerging countries are still lacking. Thus, this study intends to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive model for the process of SMEs internationalization in Malaysia. Five major internationalization perspectives namely process and stage models, network, born-global and international new ventures, resource-based view, and international entrepreneurship were integrated in formulating a framework for this study. In-depth interviews were carried out with thirty-two Malaysian experts including academics, policy makers, government agencies, chamber of commerce, and research institute. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed manually using thematic coding and frequency counts analysis. Six important factors with distinguished categories and items pertaining to SME internationalization process were identif...
Financial considerations play a major role influencing the internationalization of firms. However... more Financial considerations play a major role influencing the internationalization of firms. However, it is not clear how integrated financial factors such as cost and capital are related to the export behavior of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this study is to examine financial profiles of SMEs in an emerging economy by discriminating between non-exporters and exporters. Survey data from 356 SMEs in Malaysia was analyzed to see how perceived costs, internal financial resources, and external capital constraint are associated with their export status. Through a multiple logistic regression model, it is found that exporters perceive higher internal financial resources and fewer constraints in accessing external capital. They also perceive higher export costs than non-exporters. This study offers academics, entrepreneurs, and policy-makers a comprehensive understanding of financial characteristics that explain the export behavior of SMEs in developing countries.
International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2015
The study examines the relationship between competitive strategies and export market selection by... more The study examines the relationship between competitive strategies and export market selection by small and medium-sized exporters in an emerging economy. Drawing from the literature on comparative advantages of exporters from developing countries and demand characteristics in export markets, hypotheses are constructed on how cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies are associated with exports to developed and developing countries. Survey data from 214 manufacturing SME exporters in Malaysia is used to empirically examine the relationships using ordinary least squares regression. The results suggest that cost strategies are positively associated with exports to developed countries but not developing countries. Differentiation strategies show the opposite effect, cost strategies and focus strategies are negatively associated with exports to both types of markets. This study contributes by demonstrating that competitive strategies act as a firm-level factor influencing export market selection. Implications and limitations of the study are presented.
The purpose of this study is to understand financial and behavioural influences on the export sta... more The purpose of this study is to understand financial and behavioural influences on the export status of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy.
Trade liberalization offers exporting opportunities for firms around the world. However, little i... more Trade liberalization offers exporting opportunities for firms around the world. However, little is known if firms export as a strategy for leveraging their competitive advantages in the local market into the international level. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of competitive advantages in the local market on the export intention of manufacturing-based small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy. In particular, we test hypotheses on generic competitive advantages of cost, differentiation, focus, and integrated advantages on a sample of 140 SMEs in Malaysia. Using OLS regression, the results depict that differentiation, focus and integrated differentiation-focus advantages encourage firms to export. However, cost advantage does not significantly affect the export intention, while integrated cost-focus advantage holds firms back from going abroad. This study contributes by defining the types of competitive advantages in the local market that enco...
Understanding the internationalization process of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is imp... more Understanding the internationalization process of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is imperative for emerging economies to compete globally. Empirical findings of SMEs from emerging countries are still lacking. Thus, this study intends to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive model for the process of SMEs internationalization in Malaysia. Five major internationalization perspectives namely process and stage models, network, born-global and international new ventures, resource-based view, and international entrepreneurship were integrated in formulating a framework for this study. In-depth interviews were carried out with thirty-two Malaysian experts including academics, policy makers, government agencies, chamber of commerce, and research institute. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed manually using thematic coding and frequency counts analysis. Six important factors with distinguished categories and items pertaining to SME internationalization process were identif...
Financial considerations play a major role influencing the internationalization of firms. However... more Financial considerations play a major role influencing the internationalization of firms. However, it is not clear how integrated financial factors such as cost and capital are related to the export behavior of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this study is to examine financial profiles of SMEs in an emerging economy by discriminating between non-exporters and exporters. Survey data from 356 SMEs in Malaysia was analyzed to see how perceived costs, internal financial resources, and external capital constraint are associated with their export status. Through a multiple logistic regression model, it is found that exporters perceive higher internal financial resources and fewer constraints in accessing external capital. They also perceive higher export costs than non-exporters. This study offers academics, entrepreneurs, and policy-makers a comprehensive understanding of financial characteristics that explain the export behavior of SMEs in developing countries.
International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2015
The study examines the relationship between competitive strategies and export market selection by... more The study examines the relationship between competitive strategies and export market selection by small and medium-sized exporters in an emerging economy. Drawing from the literature on comparative advantages of exporters from developing countries and demand characteristics in export markets, hypotheses are constructed on how cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies are associated with exports to developed and developing countries. Survey data from 214 manufacturing SME exporters in Malaysia is used to empirically examine the relationships using ordinary least squares regression. The results suggest that cost strategies are positively associated with exports to developed countries but not developing countries. Differentiation strategies show the opposite effect, cost strategies and focus strategies are negatively associated with exports to both types of markets. This study contributes by demonstrating that competitive strategies act as a firm-level factor influencing export market selection. Implications and limitations of the study are presented.
The purpose of this study is to understand financial and behavioural influences on the export sta... more The purpose of this study is to understand financial and behavioural influences on the export status of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy.
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