Social Ties Driving Internationalization for SMEs from Azores Islands, Portugal

Social Ties Driving Internationalization for SMEs from Azores Islands, Portugal

A recent study of a small fish exporter from the Azores Islands, an autonomous Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic, some 900 miles from the European mainland, offers useful insights on the key drivers of internationalization for companies based on small islands. It illustrates the critical role of social ties in guiding and supporting island-based SMEs towards successful internationalization. Often challenged by „isolation‟ and distance from the core economies, and by dis-economies of scale and high transportation cost, these SMEs from small islands tend to exhibit relatively low international involvement. The resultant economic weakness associated with such islands often fuels emigration.  In the case of the small fish exporter from the Azores Islands investigated by Camara and Simeos (2008), this meant access to major emigrant communities in Canada (British Columbia and Quebec) and the United States (California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) among others. There is evidence, however, that some island-based SMEs leverage the network of family and social ties existing between those remaining on the islands and those that emigrated to compete in international markets.
Source: Camara and Simeos (2008)

Motivations for SME internationalisation of your international business

Motivations for SME internationalisation
A number of surveys consulting the drivers of SME internationalization have become available from private and public sources across OECD and APEC member economies and some of the countries involved in the OECD enlargement or enhanced engagement process have been undertaken since the completion of the 2007 OECD-APEC study.
A review of the evidence from the above-outlined studies suggests the salience of a number of key motivating factors for SME internationalization, including growth motives; knowledge-related motives; network/social ties; and domestic/regional market factors. The specific OECD economies covered in these recent studies include Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA . The non-OECD member economies investigated are Chile, India and Indonesia. A few of these studies provided sub-national and sectorial insights on motivations for SME internationalization.