Abstract
Increasing the export has been an important agenda to many countries as it contributes to economic growth. Exporting is the most common way to expand business and penetrate international market. The role of SMEs in global market has increased which contribute to economic growth of a country. However, SMEs are facing challenges in entering export markets due to limited resources, competition with multinationals, and many other factors. Hence, SMEs must make sure that they are prepared to enter the export market as to minimize the risks of failure in international market. The objective of this paper is to examine export readiness among SMEs in Malaysia as studies have shown that export readiness influenced export performance. Interviews were conducted on eight manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia to examine their perception and level of export readiness. Among the important dimensions to export readiness are motivational factors, management commitment, product consideration, and financial resources. The findings showed that SMEs are motivated and have the intention to enter international market, but their motivations do not necessarily manifested into commitment to export. This study contributes significantly to the theory of export readiness and extends literature on export readiness among SMEs. Further researches are also suggested.
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Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge the Research Management Institute (RMI) UiTM, Shah Alam, and Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) for the financial support through the Research Acculturation Grants, File No: 600-RMI/RAGS 5/3(148/2012).
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Rosnan, H., Saihani, S.B., Yusoff, N., Daud, N.M. (2016). Export Readiness Among Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Malaysia. In: Pyeman, J., Wan Rashid, W., Hanif, A., Syed Mohamad, S., Tan, P. (eds) Proceedings of the 1st AAGBS International Conference on Business Management 2014 (AiCoBM 2014). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-426-9_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-426-9_5
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