How do SMEs succeed in international business despite resource limitations?
• Compared to large NINES, smaller firms are often more innovative and adaptable and have quicker response times when it comes to implementing new ideas and technologies and meeting customer needs.
• SMEs are better able to serve niche markets around the world that hold little interest for MNEs.
• Smaller firms are usually avid users of information and communication technologies, including the Internet.
• As they usually lack substantial resources, smaller firms minimize overhead or fixed investments. They rely on external facilitators, such as FedEx and DEL, as well as independent distributors in foreign markets.
• Smaller firms tend to thrive on private knowledge that they possess or produce. They access and mobilize resources through their cross-border knowledge networks or their international social capital.