International knowledge plays a crucial role or rms willing to internationalize. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) oten try to grat it rom external sources, such as advisers, consultants, etc. Among them, Temporary Export Managers (TEMs) are becoming a viable solution among SMEs to access readily available international experience at a relatively low cost. However, it is unclear how SMEs grat knowledge rom TEMs and how SME-TEM interactions translate into impacts on the rm’s internationalization strategy. To address this gap, we examined 20 cases o the TEM-SME collaboration, conducting 48 semi-structured interviews in Italy. The results show that three main knowledge mechanisms are activated through TEM-SME interactions: mobilization, integration, and recombination. A grounded interpretative ramework is proposed to show how these mechanisms afect strategic international knowledge, encompassing diferentiated-to-diferentiated, diferentiated-to-integrated, and integrated-tointegrated knowledge trajectories. The study ofers insights to both TEMs and SMEs to enhance knowledge grating processes to impact SMEs’ international development.
SMEs internationalization by grafting knowledge. Unveiling the enabling mechanisms of strategic knowledge management
Maria Vincenza Ciasullo
;Miriana Ferrara;
2024-01-01
Abstract
International knowledge plays a crucial role or rms willing to internationalize. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) oten try to grat it rom external sources, such as advisers, consultants, etc. Among them, Temporary Export Managers (TEMs) are becoming a viable solution among SMEs to access readily available international experience at a relatively low cost. However, it is unclear how SMEs grat knowledge rom TEMs and how SME-TEM interactions translate into impacts on the rm’s internationalization strategy. To address this gap, we examined 20 cases o the TEM-SME collaboration, conducting 48 semi-structured interviews in Italy. The results show that three main knowledge mechanisms are activated through TEM-SME interactions: mobilization, integration, and recombination. A grounded interpretative ramework is proposed to show how these mechanisms afect strategic international knowledge, encompassing diferentiated-to-diferentiated, diferentiated-to-integrated, and integrated-tointegrated knowledge trajectories. The study ofers insights to both TEMs and SMEs to enhance knowledge grating processes to impact SMEs’ international development.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.