Profitable SME internationalisation: the influence of cross-relational and relationship-specific network competence

Lasse Torkkeli

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2014, vol. 7, issue 6, 677-694

Abstract: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often internationalise to enhance their long-term survival and profitability. Their abilities to develop business network relationships with supply chain and other business partners have also been found to have a beneficial effect on their international success. However, the influence of such network competence on their long-term profitability has received less attention. The aim of this study is to do so, by examining how the network competence of SMEs influences their internationalisation propensity and subsequent profitability. Using a sample of 298 Finnish SMEs across five industries, the results indicate that relationship-specific network competence is associated with increased likelihood of first foreign market entry, whereas cross-relational network competence is positively related to increased profitability among internationalised SMEs. Thus, internationalising SMEs benefit from both types of network competence, but their importance depends on the phase of the internationalisation process and on the strategic goals of the firm.

Keywords: network competence; relationship-specific competence; cross-relational competence; SME internationalisation; SMEs; profitability; business networks; procurement management; small and medium-sized enterprises; long term survival; SCM; supply chain management; business partnerships; business relationships; networking; Finland. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=64972 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijpman:v:7:y:2014:i:6:p:677-694

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Procurement Management from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().