Innovation and Export

Introduction

Innovation and internationalization have been identified as two of the main driving forces of economic growth (Pla-Barber and Alegre 2007; Bołkunow 2019). And while globalization has changed the competitive playing field for all companies, this is especially true for small organizations within which available resources are limited (Etemad 2004; Szczepanski 2016).

The internationalization of a company can take several forms: import, external growth, direct/indirect export, etc. For this research work, we focus on a specific mode of internationalization: exporting. Several studies point out that exporting is one of the most common ways to enter the foreign market in the early stages of SME internationalization (Bianchi and Wickramasekera 2016). Thus, throughout this book, we will define exporting as the internationalization strategy aimed at positioning our products and services outside the geographic boundaries of our home country.

Exporting provides an additional source of demand via a larger market or by enabling the creation of a new market (Monreal-Pérez et al. 2012). In addition, international competitiveness helps boost the domestic market and pushes other companies to internationalize (DiPietro and Anoruo 2006). However, international markets are characterized by much stronger competitive pressure than domestic markets (López et al. 2005). SMEs are thus generally hampered by their difficulties in mobilizing the strategic resources needed to enter and succeed ...