Title: The impact of market knowledge on the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovenia

Authors: Nuša Basle; Polona Tominc; Romana Korez-Vide

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia ' Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia ' Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to test the dependence of internationalisation of SMEs in Slovenia on market knowledge. For this purpose, in the first part of this paper, market knowledge is conceptualised and the importance of institutional support on the internationalisation of SMEs as a source for acquiring market knowledge is examined. In the second part, SMEs in Slovenia are surveyed about the scope and forms of their internationalisation, about the level and the sources of their market knowledge and about the awareness and the usage of Slovenian and the European Union's (EU) institutional incentives in internationalisation. In the third part, the dependence of SMEs internationalisation in Slovenia on their market knowledge, as well as the importance of institutional incentives on SMEs' level of internationalisation, are measured by factor analysis and regression models. The study establishes only the limited impact of SMEs' market knowledge on their internationalisation and highlights low awareness and usage of Slovenian and the EU's institutional support for the internationalisation of SMEs in Slovenia.

Keywords: internationalisation; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; market knowledge; institutional support; Slovenia; European Union.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2018.091373

European Journal of International Management, 2018 Vol.12 No.3, pp.334 - 350

Received: 10 Feb 2016
Accepted: 01 Sep 2016
Published online: 30 Apr 2018 *

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