The Importance of International Predisposition and Contact with the Foreign Market: Empirical Evidence from UK High Technology Small Firms

Abstract

Whether small entrepreneurial firms form strategies specifically in order to internationalize is debatable. It is likely, however, that the firms that are most successful in internationalizing will develop strategies aimed at forming international linkages with external bodies, and will spend time and resources on seeking, developing and maintaining these linkages. Firms are likely to be better at or more active in developing linkages overseas if they are predisposed to internationalize. Small entrepreneurial firms may be more predisposed to internationalize if their founders have an international orientation (Dichtl, 1990), or have experience that enables them to cross the cultural divide between country markets (Reuber and Fischer, 1999). Firms that have founders who are fluent in foreign languages, are themselves foreign nationals or have received education or work experience overseas will be more predisposed to make contact with organizations or bodies overseas (Wiedersheim-Paul et al., 1976; Cromie et al., 1997; Westhead et al., 2001) and are likely to put more effort into developing those links.