Exploration of Chinese SMEs' export development: The role of managerial determinants based on an adapted innovation‐related internationalization model

• Author: Hongmin Yan,Alvin Tan,Rumintha Wickramasekera
• Published date: 01 July 2018
• Date: 01 July 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/tie.21969

EMERGING MARKET PERSPECTIVES: CHINA

Exploration of Chinese SMEs’export development: The role of

managerial determinants based on an adapted innovation-

related internationalization model

Hongmin Yan | Rumintha Wickramasekera | Alvin Tan

Queensland University of Technology,

Brisbane, Australia

Correspondence

Hongmin Yan, QUT Business School,

Queensland University of Technology,

2 George Street, Brisbane City, QLD 4000,

Australia.

Email: hongmin.yan@hdr.qut.edu.au

Over the past two decades, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China have achieved

rapid international development. Due to China’s unique cultural and institutional environments,

our understanding of the influence of managerial determinants on internationalization is still

limited. This exploratory study takes the lens of the innovation model of internationalization to

revisit the dynamic development of Chinese SMEs’export operations. Based on the four in-

depth case studies, the findings suggest that exports by Chinese SMEs are influenced by mana-

gerial perceptions such as negative country-of-origin effect and strict overseas quality stan-

dards. In addition, they show that both external and internal drivers act as “change agents”in

their internationalization involvement. These findings will assist various stakeholders—

government and export promotion agencies—to develop and deliver needs-based supports and

encourage nonexporters to participate in international operations.

KEYWORDS

change agents, China, export barriers, innovation-related internationalization model,

managerial determinants, SMEs

1|INTRODUCTION

In today’s international environment, small and medium-sized enter-

prises (SMEs) are increasingly active, and they represent a significant

contribution to economic growth and job creation (Bianchi, Glavas, &

Mathews, 2017; Bose, 2016; Hånell & Ghauri, 2016; Pinho &

Pinheiro, 2015). Due to the importance of SMEs, their internationali-

zation has emerged as an important research topic in recent decades.

Notably, export is by far the most common strategy adopted by

SMEs to internationalize (Martineau & Pastoriza, 2016). In the con-

text of China, the rapid growth of the export sector has become a

key driver of its impressive economic growth. Not only are the large

state-owned enterprises (SOEs) contributing to this growth, but many

SMEs have also emerged as new players in the international markets

by exporting (Alon, Yeheskel, Lerner, & Zhang, 2013). Notably, SMEs

account for 98.9% of business enterprises and more than 60% of

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) (National Bureau of Statistics

of the People’s Republic of China [NBSC], 2014). Given the economic

significance of SMEs and the recognized benefits of exporting, there

is heightened interest among policymakers to find ways to encourage

greater participation of Chinese SMEs in the international markets

(Kahiya, Dean, & Heyl, 2014). In response, a growing body of

research has examined the issues experienced by Chinese SMEs

(Alon et al., 2013; Zhang, Ma, & Wang, 2012; Zhang, Ma, Wang, Li, &

Huo, 2016). Nonetheless, with few exceptions (e.g., Jansson &

Söderman, 2012), internationalization process research in the Chinese

context primarily focuses on the postexport stage via country-based

scope—measuring the number of foreign countries firms are export-

ing to (e.g., Zhang et al., 2016)—but does not study the process as it

unfolds over time (Welch & Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, 2014). We fill

this research gap by shifting the focus to the preexport stages and

deploying a processual lens to examine how and why the internation-

alization process commences.

Given that millions of SMEs in China have not yet entered the

international market , it is prudent to understan d the factors that

either contribute to or i nhibit managerial co mmitment to

DOI: 10.1002/tie.21969

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