International performance of SMEs: a strategic approach

Internationalization has become part of the daily life of most SMEs, and literature has emphasized the role of this strategic choice focusing on several aspects. Current research aims at understanding the change in internationalization behavior, trying to identify the drivers of the phenomenon and at describing the strategic dimensions of internationalisation. Literature, however, presents a gap in describing and analyzing international strategic choices that SMEs pursue in internationalisation. Earlier studies in the field are heterogeneous and inconclusive as far as a firm's strategic and competitive situation and its expressions in strategy is concerned. This article wants to focus on this gap, analyzing how international SMEs behave strategically abroad, in relation to their export intensity. The study is still at the explorative level, so the methodology is based on descriptive and correlation analysis. The results underline preference for strategic flexibility, which involves a market widening rather than a market deepening attitude and the typical trait of Italian family businesses, focused on customers and not on markets, ready to respond to each customer's need but not to adapt to foreign market requirements.