Do International Capabilities and Resources Configure Firm’s Sustainable Competitive Performance? Research within Pakistani SMEs

Ma Degong, Farid Ullah, Muhammad Sualeh Khattak and Muhammad Anwar
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Ma Degong: School of Economic, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Farid Ullah: School of Economic, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Muhammad Sualeh Khattak: Lecturer at Hamdard Institute of Management Sciences, Hadmard University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Muhammad Anwar: Faculty of Management Sciences, International Islamic University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Market conditions in emerging economies are often reported as less stable and volatile. The business sector, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies, face several shortcomings including lack of resources, lack of finance, lack of support and lack of human skills, etc. Hence, they look to international support and resources to survive in a long run in the dynamic markets. This research examines the role of international finance, international technology, international experience and international network in SME firms’ Sustainable Competitive Performance (SCP) in Pakistan. SMEs are a major source of employment and value creation and, therefore, are very relevant to Pakistan economic and social development and improved sustainability. Hypotheses were tested on the data set collected from 304 emerging SMEs. After Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was applied in Analysis of a Moment Structures (AMOS), the results indicate that international finance, international experience and international network significantly positively contribute to SCP, but international technology is not a significant predictor of SCP. This research recommends top managers and policy makers to give enough attention to the particular international resources and capabilities in order to configure their firm survival in the turbulent market.

Keywords: international finance; international technology; international experience; international networking; sustainable competitive performance; SMEs; Pakistan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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