Internationalization of Small High-Tech Firms : The Role of Information Technology

SUMMARY This paper aims to address die relationship between two current phenomena in modern economy, namely the significant advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the increasing number of small international firms. Previous research on small international firms has identified recent advances in ICT as a trend that presumably facilitates the process of introducing products to international markets. However, little empirical work has been conducted to establish the dynamics behind this relationship. Pulling from a sample of 310 small Norwegian exporting manufacturers, this study investigates the role of ICT in small firm internationalization aiming to see whether ICT indeed plays a facilitating role in the internationalization process. We investigate three direct relationships between ICT and factors related to the international behavior of small firms (international expansion, competitive advantages, and managerial orientation). In order to understand the underlying dynamics, we als...

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