India-based versus UK-based SME owners’ perspectives on inter-firm collaboration

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to inquire about pre-requisites and benefits of collaboration in the UK and India, testing for significance of country context. Design/methodology/approach The survey data set includes 118 UK-based and 175 India-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper applies a grounded theory research design, given that to date, no sufficient SME sector-specific, quantitative frameworks have been published. Findings India-based SMEs are more inclined towards frequent collaboration. Soft variables such as perceived trustworthiness or past commitment, appear to be significant when explaining whether or not SMEs in India enter into a collaboration. Operations-driven motives play the most significant role for them, whereas for UK-based SMEs, product design-related collaboration motives are of more importance. Research limitations/implications The developed cross-country and country-specific collaboration variables will facilitate SME studies under a consistent and complete framework. Practical implications Business associations and SME owners in the UK can use the research to gain an Indian perspective and vice versa. This study concludes a stylised framework for SME owners and managers to classify collaboration patterns in a country. Originality/value While previous research established concepts and practices of SME collaboration, this is the first paper that quantitatively addresses the attitudes and experiences that SME owners hold when initialising inter-firm collaboration.