• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.357-366
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of internationalization on the business performance of firms in Laos as a transition economy. Using a panel dataset collected by the World Bank for 285 firms during the period 2009, 2012, and 2016 in the service and manufacturing industries, the two-steps Heckman regression results found robust evidence for the fact that the S-curve tie exists between the degree of internationalization and business performance of firms in Laos while controlling other factors. Specifically, if firms have a degree of internationalization lower than 0.4374, they will suffer losses due to the high cost of preparing for phase 1 which is market penetration. Then, when the degree of internationalization continues to increase from 0.4374 to 0.9131, firms will gain benefits from internationalization (phase 2), however, these benefits will deteriorate when the degree of internationalization is greater than 0.9131 (phase 3), meaning that firms will no longer be able to exploit economies of scale or advantages in target markets, or product cycles will fall into a state of decline. Interestingly, we also found that firms with a high concentration level of ownership and internationalization activities may achieve better performance than those with a low concentration of ownership and one which carried out internationalization activities.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.8
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• pp.473-483
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• 2020

Internationalization of SMEs has gathered pace in recent times with falling trade barriers and rising world trade encouraging small firms to seek profits and growth in foreign markets. This has attracted the attention of researchers, and several studies have been conducted in Western nations on the factors influencing the process of SME internationalization. However, hardly any study has been done on SME internationalization in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) region, thus leaving a gap in the literature. This study investigates the influence of four factors, namely, human capital, network competency, entrepreneurial orientation, and market volatility on the degree of internationalization of SMEs in Oman. The study employs survey data collected from 150 SME owners and managers using a structured questionnaire having 27 items, and has been analyzed using correlation and logistic regression, as the dependent variable is binary in nature. The results reveal the impact of the chosen variables on the degree of internationalization of SMEs. The findings of the study suggest that network competency has the highest impact on degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs, followed by human capital and entrepreneurial orientation, while market volatility, though insignificant, moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1-18
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• 2021

Purpose - In this study, we explore the relationship between the degree of internationalization (DOI) and firm performance (DOI-P) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector. Specifically, we investigate whether the costs and benefits dynamics concerning the internationalization of SMEs differ between high-tech and non-high-tech industries. Design/methodology - We extend the prior literature on this relationship by employing 5-year data on 589 Korean SMEs in the manufacturing sector and examining the moderating impact of the industry characteristics. Our findings reveal a U-shaped relationship between the DOI and SME performance. High-tech SMEs demonstrate an inverted U-shaped relationship, whereas non-hightech SMEs exhibit a U-shaped relationship. Findings - Our findings illustrate the importance of the industry factor in testing the performance impact of the internationalization of Korean SMEs. By incorporating industry dynamics, our results indicate that the DOI-P relationship depends on the context of the industry in which an SME operates. High-tech SMEs also display a higher DOI but are outperformed by non-high-tech SMEs for the entire internationalization path, which implies that high-tech SMEs face more challenges than non-high-tech SMEs while seeking internationalization. Originality/value - The findings strongly validate that significant benefits exist for SMEs undertaking internationalization. We also employ the contextual framework contributing to increasing the understanding of the intrinsic value of internationalization and resolving the mixed results issue on the DOI-P relationship, by illustrating that the industry factor leads to different dynamics of costs and benefits of SME internationalization; it also determines the shape and direction of the relationship.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.461-488
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• 2018

This paper explores the relationship between network cooperation, innovation, internationalization and economic performance of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of engineering goods industry located in Bangalore city, India. At the outset, it is observed that SMEs receive the maximum assistance in the realm of product specifications. Moreover, they do not resort to manufacturing new products as much as they resort to product modifications or process improvements. Further, it is found (using Chi-square test of independence) that higher the network assistance received from an external network, greater is the innovation performance of SMEs. Subsequently, using analysis of variance (ANOVA), export intensity (proxy for internationalization performance) of SMEs is found to have a significant positive association with both the degree of their network cooperation and of their innovation performance. Lastly, it is observed that higher the degree of each of network cooperation, innovation performance and internationalization performance, better is the economic performance (measured by total sales turnover) of SMEs. These results have significant implications for the policy makers of the country to give due attention to network cooperation, innovation and internationalization as the means of enhancing the economic performance of SMEs.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2009

We present a unified explanation of the internationalization strategies of major mobile network operators (MNOs). We have developed a framework that analyzes the strategies of major international MNOs in terms of the relationship between their degree of involvement in international business operations and the degree of equity participation. The results show a positive association between these two dimensions as expected, but they also reveal some exceptional cases in which certain MNOs are actively involved in the business operations of other foreign MNOs, even with minor (or zero) equity investments. In this paper, we argue that the strategic actions of the major MNOs which are the largest shareholders of foreign MNOs are in an equilibrium status because these major MNOs derive maximum benefit from full or considerable management control and active involvement. Finally, we predict that latecomers (MNOs who are just about to enter foreign telecommunications markets) may adopt an incremental investment approach because most developed markets and deregulated emerging markets with growth potential are already preempted by major MNOs. Therefore, the window of opportunity for internationalization in those markets is currently small.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.13-24
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• 2018

Purpose - This study investigates the moderation effect of internal factor, a firms size, on the external knowledge sourcing strategy and its effectiveness in generating radical innovation. We incorporate concepts of breadth and depth as two measures to gauge the degree of openness in firms external search Research design and methodology - The dependent variable in the regression model is the percentage of innovative sales and therefore, Tobit regression is employed for estimating significant factors affecting on the ratio of first-to-market by breadth and depth in external knowledge, internationalization, and size. Results - The results show that the external knowledge, in terms of both breadth and depth, has a positive relationship with radical innovation. However internationalization as external knowledge resources is not statistically accepted. Firm size has moderating effect on innovation negatively only in case of using external knowledge resources to a high degree. Conclusions - Firms obtain external information mostly from customers, competitors, and suppliers etc. empirical knowledge in terms of scope and intensity is an important contributor to innovation. And intensity use of external knowledge and information resources can work in favor of smaller firms rather than larger ones. Internationalization seems to have little effect on innovation but it requires further researches with clear criteria and more data.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.30-57
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• 2019

Purpose - This study analyzes the effect of internationalization represented as exporting on firm performance on the subject of SMEs operating in Masan Free Trade Zone which has shown poor performance recently despite its status as the oldest and largest free trade zone in Korea. We also analyze the effect of firm size on firm performance, and the moderating role of firm size in relation to internationalization and firm performance. Design/methodology - This study uses multiple regression models for unbalanced panel data as the empirical tools for the estimation of the effect that internationalization has on firm performance (ROA or ROS). Our sample consists of 91 manufacturing SMEs among all 110 companies located in Masan Free Trade Zone as of 2017. Findings - The degree of internationalization has a negative impact on firm performance. However, firm size turns out to have a positive effect and play a positive moderating role in the relation to internationalization and firm performance. This seems to be because most tenant companies operating in Masan Free Trade Zone are small firms whose costs of internationalization may exceed the benefits. Empirical results also show that longer CEO tenure has a greater negative effect on firm performance. Originality/value - The originality/value of this paper can be found in 3 aspects. First, we conducted an empirical analysis on the relationship between the internationalization and firm performance of SMEs in a specific region, namely, Masan Free Trade Zone. Second, while most previous studies focused on listed medium companies, most of the sample of this study are small and medium non-listed enterprises. Third, it is witnessed that firm size has a positive moderating effect on the relation between internationalization and firm performance.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.99-120
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• 2017

Recent studies shows that international entrepreneurship orientation is recognized as a very important tool for improving corporate performance in international business activities. However, these relationships show various research results. Therefore, it can be a very interesting research topic to examine whether these relationships are linear or non-linear when selected as a target in developing country like China. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the effects of international entrepreneurship orientation on the export performance is non-liner type in China's manufacturing firms. And investigated the moderating role of degree of internationalization and market dynamism relative to the relationship between the international entrepreneurial-orientation and the export performance. A total of 478 questionnaires were used for the hypothesis test. The results of this study are summarized as follows: First, there is a J-shaped. relationship between international entrepreneurship orientation and export performance. Second, degree of Internationalization strengthened the reverse J-shaped relationship between international entrepreneurship orientation and export performance. Finally, degree of internationalization and market dynamics show that J-shaped relationship between international entrepreneurial orientation and export performance is strengthened. The results of the study's theoretical contribution and the managerial contribution is as followed. As a theoretical contribution, it is confirmed that international entrepreneurial orientation (J-shaped) and export performance form a non-linear relationship, and it is possible to make an empirical contribution that can newly approach the relationship between international entrepreneurial orientation and export performance. The managerial contribution suggests that China's exporting companies have a higher degree of Internationalization in their international business activities and that the higher the dynamics of the overseas markets, the more advanced the international entrepreneurial behavior should be required to improve the export performance.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.19-51
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• 1991

The objectives of the study are to look into the fisheries processing industry, analyze problems the industry has, and develop strategies for the industry to take care of the problems. The study was performed in two different dimensions : industry level and firm level. Nevertheless, the study focused on the following main problem areas raw material, production, technology development, internationalization, and managerial performance. The secondary data were utilized to analyze problems at the industry level, For analyzing the firm level situation, an empirical study by using a mail survey with a questionnaire was accomplished. The main problems found were as follows : First, difficulty in procuring raw material was the most serious and main problem. It was caused, externally, by the announcement of 200 nautical miles by most of fishery abundant countries and, internally, by drying fishery resources in the nation's coastal areas ; Second, the rate of fishery processing has been continuously increased and the degree of the processing has also been sophisticated, which implies the pattern of demand for the fishery has been changing widely and deeply. The industry, however, seemed to be unable to meet the consumers' satisfaction ; Third, with the importance of technology for ensuring the changing demands in the fishery processing industry, there has been little effort in research and development both at industry level and at the firm level ; Next, the industry has mainly involved in exporting in association with internationalization. Not to mention about foreign direct investment, technology transfer was not active ; Finaliy, most of firms were densely located in a few areas. The managerical performance in terms of main financial ratios still needs to be improved. Thus, strategies, which would take care of the repective problems, were developed. At industry level, the strategies were developed by reasoning mostly based on the findings from the literature survey. A scheme for internationalization of the firms was suggested. This was made by extracting the factors which would differentiate the firms' internationalization stages. In order to achieve this analysis, discriminant approach was employed. Despite the utility of the findings, it was mostly emphasized that harmonious efforts among government, the industry supporting institutions such as banks, and firms are needed for the successful operation of the strategies. Also, a list of areas for further study was provided especially in relation to the validity threatening parts of the study.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.109-118
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility and internationalization. The companies executed the CSR activity using the published index of economic justice (KEJI index) surveyed from 2013 to 2014. A total of 286 companies were included in the study. Results are as follows. First, the degree of internationalization groups showed significant differences. It found that the higher the proportion of international companies showed positively CSR activities. Especially, It found that environmental management and customer protection showed positively performed. Second, environmental management and customer protection showed positive effect on firm internationalization. It found that the higher the proportion of international companies thought environmental management and customer protection activity were more important. This study proposed that CSR activity are very important in firm performance. It showed CSR activities and strategy are presented for sustainable management.