Title: The innovative product development of internationalising SMEs

Authors: Emilia Rovira Nordman

Addresses: Department for Marketing and Strategy, Stockholm School of Economics, P.O. Box 6501, S-113 83 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of two kinds of experiential knowledge on the knowledge development and innovative product development (IPD) of internationalising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). From this examination, six hypotheses are generated. The results of a linear structural relations (LISREL) analysis of 188 SMEs show that experiential knowledge - in the shape of relationship knowledge and network knowledge - has a direct effect on the knowledge development of internationalising SMEs and their foreign customers and an indirect effect on IPD. Resource-constrained SMEs, thus, use experiential knowledge acquired from foreign business relationships as a means to enable knowledge development, leading to innovative activities like IPD.

Keywords: internationalisation; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; experiential knowledge; innovative products; product development; knowledge development; LISREL; linear structural relations; statistical software; structural equation modelling; statistics; relationship knowledge; network knowledge; foreign customers; resource-constrained companies; constraints; resources; foreign businesses; business relationships; innovative activities; learning; intellectual capital.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLIC.2012.047288

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 2012 Vol.9 No.3, pp.276 - 294

Published online: 04 Sep 2014 *

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