The Effect of Business Knowledge on the Internationalisation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Andrea S. Gubik; Zoltan Bartha

Published : 2017-08-30

Vol. 75 No. 4 (2017)

The Effect of Business Knowledge on the Internationalisation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Andrea S. Gubik

Zoltan Bartha

Abstract

It is common knowledge that the internationalisation process of enterprises requires business knowledge. The exact type of knowledge required for internationalisation, and methods of its acquisition are, however, far less obvious. The goal of this study is to identify the knowledge elements that have the greatest influence on the internationalisation process of the small and medium- sized enterprises in the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). A two-dimensional model of business knowledge is used for the analysis that sorts knowledge elements along the explicit-tacit, and the specific-general dimensions. According to this model, business knowledge that is explicit and general, is the easiest to transfer, while the tacit and specific elements are hardly transferable. The influence of the five knowledge elements described by the model on the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises was tested on a sample of 984 firms. Our analysis confirmed that the amount of knowledge accessible for the firms is connected to internationalisation. It was found that among various knowledge types, the strongest influence for the decision to become international, the rate and intensity of internationalisation exert tacit and specific knowledge elements.(original abstract)

Keywords:

Knowledge, Knowledge management, Internationalization

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Gubik, A. S., & Bartha, Z. (2017). The Effect of Business Knowledge on the Internationalisation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Bankowej W Poznaniu, 75(4). Retrieved from https://journals.wsb.poznan.pl/index.php/znwsb/article/view/807

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Andrea S. Gubik

Affiliation:

University of Miskolc, Hungary United States

Zoltan Bartha

Affiliation:

University of Miskolc, Hungary United States