Antreprenerystės įtaka mažų ir vidutinių įmonių internacionalizacijai

LTStraipsnyje apžvelgiamos mažų ir vidutinių įmonių (MVĮ) įsitraukimo į tarptautinę veiklą priežastys ir antreprenerystės įtaka šių įmonių internacionalizacijai. Analizuojami naujausi tarptautinės antreprenerystės moksliniai tyrimai, nagrinėjama antreprenerystės įtaka sėkmingai MVĮ veiklai užsienio rinkose. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Mažos ir vidutinės įmonės; Internacionalizacija; Antreprenerystė; Small companies; Internationalization; Entrepreneurship.

ENThe growing role of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in both advanced market economies and economies in transition and their considerable contribution to employment and economic dynamism in the most industrialized countries suggest that this experience can be used for sustainable development of developing countries. Meanwhile, due to changes in the international business environment, SMEs are experiencing increased competition as foreign firms gain access to local markets. In the present world economy, this means that no market is forever safe from competition and no company can afford to stake its future on the assumption that it owns' its home market. Therefore, due to increasing competitive pressure and reduction of the direct subsidies and protection they formerly received from their governments, it is particularly necessary for SMEs in developing countries to internationalize. Traditionally, the internationalization of the firm has progressed in a slow and gradual process through which the firm has increased its geographical scope as well as its commitment to foreign markets. Such stagewise internationalization patterns have been demonstrated in early studies in Europe (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977) as well as in the US (Bilkey and Tesar, 1977; Cavusgil, 1980), and led to the formulation of the stages model of internationalization. During the last decade, several scientific researches showed that even newly established firms may be internationally, or even globally, oriented right from their inception (McKinsey & Co., 1993; Oviatt and McDougall, 1994; Knight & Cavusgil, 1996). McKinsey & Co (1993) labeled such firms "Born Globals" and characterized them as SMEs that view the world as their market place right from the outset.G. A. Knight and S. T. Cavusgil (1996) note that Born Global firms tend to be managed by entrepreneurial visionaries who view the world as a borderless marketplace. B. M. Oviatt & P. P. McDougall (1994) labeled this type of firms "International New Ventures" and defined them "as a business organization that, from inception, seeks to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and the sale of outputs in multiple countries". In the literature, it is emphasized that such SMEs must be seen as a challenge to the traditional stages theories of internationalization (Knight & Cavusgil, 1996), and to the theories of the MNE (Oviatt & McDougall, 1994). Fast internationalization may be explained by entrepreneurial skills and mindset. The role of the entrepreneur was pointed out during the review of theories of born globāls and international new ventures. It is expected that the entrepreneur has aggressive growth goals, previous international experience and a network of connections in the industry. According to the research models, based on the work of B. M. Oviatt and P. P. McDougall ( 1994, 1997), it is believed that the entrepreneur is one of the factors that enable these companies the accelerated internationalization of these companies. S. A. Zahra et al (2000) emphasize that SMEs may gain competitive advantages over larger, more resource-endowed firms if the former are able to market innovations faster. Increasing their technological learning may be one path to follow. S. A. Zahra & G. George (2002) proposed an integrated model of international entrepreneurship, which includes three sets of factors (organizational, strategic and environmental) that influence international entrepreneurship.Authors highlight three dimensions of international entrepreneurship: extent, speed, and scope. Finally, they suggest outcomes from international entrepreneurship - financial and non-financial performance indicators. M. V. Jones & N. E. Coviello (2005) presented an entrepreneurial internationalization model and suggested that entrepreneurial internationalization is linked, directly and cyclically, to various aspects of firm performance. Authors have chosen four variables: the entrepreneur, organizational structure, internationalization behavior, and performance. M. V. Jones & N. E. Coviello (2005) view accounts for the competences and resources specific to the entrepreneur, and encourages future investigation of the entrepreneur's influence along with those of the firm and environment. It was carried out a reconnaissance research to evaluate the SMEs internationalization situation in Lithuania. The results of this reasearch showed, that external factors, such as changing customers' requirements, competition intensity, technological chantes and market regulations, and internal factors, such as managers' attitudes and competence, expierence in export directly impact Lithuanian SMEs internationalization processes. [From the publication]