Managing Human Resources, Eight Edition

Human Resources Management and Exporting Firms

Our discussion so far has focused on larger firms with international facilities (that is, those in stages 3 to 5 of internationalization). However, the practices we have discussed are also relevant to smaller firms that are interested solely in exporting their products. It is estimated that only about 20 percent of U.S. firms with fewer than 500 employees have ever been active exporters, a percentage that lags way behind that found in most industrialized nations. At least 30,000 small firms in the United States have the potential to export competitively but do not do so.112

A number of studies have shown that the key impediments to exporting are (1) lack of knowledge of international markets, business ...