The role of entrepreneur-related factors in SMEs internationalization: Evidence from Russian firms

Abstract

The internationalization of SMEs is a relevant topic to study as SMEs make great input into the diversification of export and country’s economy stability. Russian Small and Medium enterprises proceed with internationalization process, as more opportunities appear on the foreign markets. The antecedents of internationalization are explored, however the entrepreneur-related factors lack profound investigation within this particular geography. Main goal of the research is to explore how entrepreneur-related factors influence internationalization. For that there a number of objectives was set: to identify SMEs internationalization peculiarities, explore the main categories of entrepreneur-related factors, see how they influence internationalization, evaluate how this information can be useful for Russian SMEs. Based on the empirical research, author has formed five cases and after analysis has concluded that role of entrepreneur is significant for SMEs internationalization. Moreover, the author identified that the influence of entrepreneur-related factors is positive, and came up with three major factors: experience, personality, network. For Russian SMEs author has formed a number of practical implications.