Title: SMEs barriers and enablers to challenge foreign countries

Authors: Leandro Pereira; Francisco Bessa; Álvaro Dias; Rui Gonçalves; Renato Lopes Da Costa

Addresses: WINNING Lab, Business Research Unit (BRU), ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal ' ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, 1649-026, Lisbon, Portugal ' Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal; ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, 1649-026, Lisbon, Portugal ' PIAGET Almada, 2805-059 Almada, Portugal ' Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL), ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract: Due to globalisation, countries, businesses, and people from different nations have become more interconnected than ever before in recent years. Following this trend, there is a growing indication for the rising engagement of SMEs in international marketplaces. When beginning the internationalisation process, larger firms can deal more effectively with barriers than SMEs. This study focused on the external barriers, drivers, support, incentives, and protection from public domestic organisations and institutions dedicated to SME internationalisation. After 20 interviews conducted with professionals with high positions in various organisations in the internationalisation ecosystem, the results suggest that public support for SMEs is essential for the companies to survive and succeed in the foreign markets.

Keywords: internationalisation; small and medium enterprise; SME; strategy; institutional support; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSB.2022.123349

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2022 Vol.13 No.1, pp.46 - 78

Received: 28 Nov 2021
Accepted: 21 Jan 2022
Published online: 10 Jun 2022 *

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