Characteristics and processes of SMEs internationalization: from opportunities and constraints towards the development of strategic networks

The current thesis aims to provide a comprehensive outlook on the small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) internationalization-related phenomena, by advancing a gradual approach, setting the state-of-the-art as a building block and then passing to the in-depth analysis of underlying issues through articulate empirical studies. In line with this overall approach, the three chapters composing the thesis address three main research objectives: RO1. to identify and discuss the opportunities and constrains apposite for SMEs internationalization process, laying emphasis on the EU context; RO2. to investigate in-depth the influence of the managerial mindset (i.e., the global mindset versus the psychic distance) on the international business performance of SMEs; RO3. to fathom the relational design and methodology of knowledge sharing within SMEs strategic networks as a prerequisite of innovative performance. Accordingly, Chapter 1 theoretically investigates the opportunities and vulnerabilities apposite for SMEs, insisting on the internationalization conditions, and then empirically exploring the European initiatives meant to support them. Chapter 2 discusses two different facets of the internationalization strategies of SMEs, that is, the roles of psychic distance and global mindset within managerial dyadic collaborations. Chapter 3 approaches the affiliation of SMEs to strategic networks which have emerged as a fruitful path towards knowledge sharing with a view to enhance their innovative performance.