The Role of Information in the Internationalisation of SMEs: A Typological Approach

Abstract

ROBERTO CAFFERATA IS PROFESSOR OF general management at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, and Riccardo Mensi is a management consultant and visiting professor at the University of Urbino, Italy. In this paper the authors aim at defining the basic principles underlying the relationship between the strategies of internationalisation of small and medium-sized firms and the demand for information/communication services (I/C services). The study is based on an assumption of a high degree of differentiation of strategic choices and structural models available to small and medium enterprises for the internationalisation of their activities. The need for I/C services depends on a set of conditions which vary according to the present vocational attitudes and the past experiences of the small entrepreneur. The authors build up a taxonomy of small and medium enterprises which need either traditional or advanced information services to operate abroad. This taxonomy is being tested through a survey based on questionnaires sent directly to Italian small entrepreneurs. The taxonomy could eventually be of help in the identification of appropriate links between demand and supply, as well as be useful for the implementation of bettei- focused public policies, where needed.