On the Use of Digital Platforms to Support SME Internationalization in the Context of Industrial Business Associations

The digital economy is creating disruptions in traditional industries and markets. Industrial business associations (IBAs) may face serious challenges in a near future to meet the needs and requirements of their members, particularly in supporting their growing international trade activities and internationalization processes. Digital platforms are already transforming different types of businesses across all markets. An IBA may use a digital platform, not only to keep up with the current technological trends of markets, but also to improve the internationalization support provided to their associate small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to present the view of these potential digital platforms' managers, by presenting the results of an exploratory field research based on 24 interviews with IBAs from Portugal, France, and the UK. Another goal is to identify current digital platforms that are being used by IBAs and to critically evaluate their potential for supporting internationalization processes of SMEs. By using these findings, a set of requirements and features for digital platforms supporting SME internationalization in the context of IBAs are derived in this chapter. These results can be used by platform designers and by IBAs for designing and developing more effective digital platforms that can meet the specific internationalization needs of their users and managers.

[1]  Mark de Reuver,et al.  The digital platform: a research agenda , 2018, J. Inf. Technol..

[2]  António Lucas Soares,et al.  Institutional networks for supporting the internationalisation of SMEs: the case of industrial business associations , 2017 .

[3]  António Lucas Soares,et al.  From Data Sources to Information Sharing in SME Collaborative Networks Supporting Internationalization: A Socio-Semantic Approach , 2017, PRO-VE.

[4]  António Lucas Soares,et al.  Information Management for Network Transformation in Industrial Enterprises Associations , 2020, Start-Ups and SMEs.

[5]  António Lucas Soares,et al.  Information, knowledge and collaboration management in the internationalisation of SMEs: A systematic literature review , 2016, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[6]  Anouk Patel-Campillo,et al.  Why types of operations, trade associations, and production trends matter in the geographic branding of an emerging industry , 2016 .

[7]  Keith D. Brouthers,et al.  Explaining the internationalization of ibusiness firms , 2015, Journal of International Business Studies.

[8]  Marco Savastano,et al.  Digital Service Platform for Networked Enterprises Collaboration: A Case Study of the NEMESYS Project , 2016, IESS.

[9]  G. Knight,et al.  Internationalization: From incremental to born global , 2016 .

[10]  Andrea Resca,et al.  A design theory for digital platforms supporting online communities: a multiple case study , 2015, J. Inf. Technol..

[11]  António Lucas Soares,et al.  A New Insight in the SMEs Internationalization Process , 2015, PRO-VE.

[12]  Ola Henfridsson,et al.  A paradigmatic analysis of digital application marketplaces , 2015, J. Inf. Technol..

[13]  Christopher Durugbo,et al.  Modelling information for collaborative networks , 2015 .

[14]  Louis Raymond,et al.  International Journal of Information Management Information Management for the Internationalization of Smes: an Exploratory Study Based on a Strategic Alignment Perspective , 2022 .

[15]  P. Gooderham,et al.  Institutional Change and Regional Development in China: The Case of Commodity Trading Markets , 2014 .

[16]  A. Ravarini,et al.  KMS in a Cluster of Firms: The Role of a Digital Platform , 2014 .

[17]  Iraj Hashi,et al.  Export behaviour of SMEs in transition countries , 2013, Small Business Economics.

[18]  M. Pieth.  Collective Action and Corruption , 2014 .

[19]  S. Mikamo.  Business associations and politics in the post-EDSA Philippines: neither oligarchy nor civil society , 2013 .

[20]  Jorge Pinho de Sousa,et al.  Case studies on collaboration, technology and performance factors in business networks , 2013, Int. J. Comput. Integr. Manuf..

[21]  Chia-Yi Cheng,et al.  Internationalization and firm performance of SMEs: The moderating effects of CEO attributes , 2013 .

[22]  Trudie Aberdeen.  Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. , 2013, The Canadian Journal of Action Research.

[23]  Vesna Sedoglavich,et al.  Technological imperatives in the internationalization process , 2012 .

[24]  Rhona E. Johnsen,et al.  Internationalisation and the internet in UK manufacturing SMEs , 2011 .

[25]  A. Gawer.  Platforms, Markets and Innovation , 2011 .

[26]  L. Sommer,et al.  Intention as a cognitive antecedent to international entrepreneurship—understanding the moderating roles of knowledge and experience , 2011 .

[27]  Ashley A. Bush,et al.  Platform Evolution: Coevolution of Platform Architecture, Governance, and Environmental Dynamics , 2010 .

[28]  Victoria Rodríguez,et al.  Managing risk and knowledge in the internationalisation process , 2010 .

[29]  Siri Terjesen,et al.  Resource dependency and institutional theory perspectives on direct and indirect export choices , 2010 .

[30]  Osama Mansour,et al.  Group Intelligence: A Distributed Cognition Perspective , 2009, 2009 International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems.

[31]  Yu Xie,et al.  Social networks and the internationalization of Chinese entrepreneurs , 2009 .

[32]  Arturo Molina,et al.  Mechanisms for assessing and enhancing organisations’ readiness for collaboration in collaborative networks , 2009 .

[33]  Umit S. Bititci,et al.  A metric for collaborative networks , 2008, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[34]  Ricardo J. Rabelo,et al.  The Ecolead Collaborative Business Infrastructure for Networked Organizations , 2008, Virtual Enterprises and Collaborative Networks.

[35]  K. Provan,et al.  Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness , 2007 .

[36]  Franz Traxler,et al.  Handbook of business interest associations, firm size, and governance : a comparative analytical approach , 2007 .

[37]  Kathleen M. Eisenhardt,et al.  Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges , 2007 .

[38]  S. Bell.  A Victim of Its Own Success: Internationalization, Neoliberalism, and Organizational Involution at the Business Council of Australia , 2006 .

[39]  W. Streeck,et al.  Governing Interests: Business Associations Facing Internationalization , 2006 .

[40]  Hamideh Afsarmanesh,et al.  Collaborative networks: a new scientific discipline , 2005, J. Intell. Manuf..

[41]  Marios Theodosiou,et al.  The export marketing information system: an integration of the extant knowledge , 2004 .

[42]  Robert J. Bennett,et al.  Business associations and their potential contribution to the competitiveness of SMEs , 1998 .

[43]  Karen Locke,et al.  Composing Qualitative Research , 1997 .

[44]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.