An investigation into the learning needs ofmanagers in internationalising small and medium-sized enterprises [9]
论文作者:留学生论文论文属性:硕士毕业论文 thesis登出时间:2010-05-03编辑:vshellyn点击率:23525
论文字数:9000论文编号:org201005021224508542语种:英语 English地区:中国价格:免费论文
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关键词:learning needs of managers internationalising small and medium-sized enterprises
contacts gained from an existing domestic customer. Further activities in foreign markets have been undertaken through contacts with large customers based abroad. On this basis Company B has been able, on an incremental basis, to use its contacts as a base for expansion into new geographical markets and leverage its existing expertise and product range. Exports, for Company C, account for less than 5 per cent of annual turnover. The orders stem from small advertisements in UK business directories being accessed by customers overseas looking for a supplier based in the UK, and from the unsolicited approach of a distributor. The MD indicates that future expansion of overseas business will occur through the establishment of a network of distributors, and he plans to attend some trade missions in the Middle East, Africa or Asia in future.
Company D began international activity as a result of receiving a small number of orders for their products from customers living in Europe. The MD was also approached by potential agents from France, Switzerland and Austria, who had seen the product while in the UK and felt there would be a market for it in their countries. Company D owns a small subsidiary company in France which had previously been a distributor of their products, but had been ‘bought-out’ because the MD believed the French market could be developed more proactively if he had more control over the activities of this particular distributor. The experiences of these companies suggests that experiential learning is important for subsequent activities that may be undertaken to achieve an expansion of international activity. While all but one of the case study companies had planned to expand their business overseas, none of them had conducted formal research into the different ways of achieving this, preferring to build on their previous approaches.
Technical and procedural learning The case study data also suggest that ‘technical’ and ‘procedural’ challenges are very significant, particularly in the early period of international activity. All of the case study organisations emphasised the critical importance of learning and mastering the documentary and regulatory mechanisms necessary for the conduct of overseas trade generally, as well as the regulations specific to their business sector.
The owner manager of Company C, for example, assumed that, when the first overseas orders arrived, the process would be like a ‘straight sale, as with UK business’. In fact, there were more com- Table 7: Benefits of involvement with international markets (n=171) No/little change Some change Imp./crit. change No response (%) (%) (%) (%) Greater market awareness 9.9 32.7 57.3 0.0 Enhanced company reputation 12.9 40.9 45.6 0.06 Professionalism increased 12.8 40.9 45.6 0.06 Organisational/management learning 29.8 43.8 24.6 1.70 Increased language proficiency 55.5 31.6 11.6 1.20 Anderson, Boocock and Graham Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 223 plications than were expected, and the company needed to learn a considerable amount about the documentation required to ship materials overseas. Company D also found the learning requirements of initial export into France particularly difficult and admitted being entirely unprepared for the levels of bureaucracy required. The MD reported that he had previously wasted entire business visits to France because he was unaware of the ‘little rules’, extra taxes and requirements for the complet
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