James H. Tiessen

Building generalizable SME international marketing models using case studies

Builds a relevant model(s) of SME international marketing given the lack of well‐accepted theories to date. Twelve case study firms were analysed using a semi‐structured survey protocol. Five of the cases are described in depth in the text and summaries are given of the other seven. Four features including niche market power and control over client and agent selection are used to define the two models that emerged from our study: a sales‐driven model and a relationship‐driven model. Four firms were attributed to the sales‐driven model, including firms that have been exporting for a long time. The paper breaks new ground by attempting to develop holistic models of SME international marketing, but importantly in a way that is firmly grounded in the operations, decisions and behaviour of real‐world SMEs.

Culture and Ethics Management Whistle-blowing and Internal Reporting within a NAFTA Country Context

This article examines the relation of culture to the propensity for, and potential effectiveness of, both internal reporting and whistle-blowing as ethics management tools within a North American context. Samples from a total of 10 regions in the US, Canada and Mexico increased the accuracy and meaningfulness of the findings. Hofstedes cultural dimensions uncertainty avoidance and power distance had the most consistent and significant relationship to propensity for both whistle-blowing and internal reporting, while collectivism was not found to be significantly related to either ethics management tool. Managers who better understand the cultural links to ethics management are more likely to craft the most effective organizational ethics strategies. Researchers can gain from increased insight, allowing departure from assumptions to an empirically based examination of how cultural dimensions might influence ethics management instruments.

Entrepreneurial Internationalisation: The Role of Distributor/Client Relationships

This paper examines the nature of SME (Small to Medium Sized Enterprise) international marketing strategies, using a framework developed by Merrilees and Tiessen (1999). This framework highlights two main types of marketing strategies: relationship‐driven and sales‐driven. The original study was developed using case studies of Canadian SMEs exporting to Japan whilst this current paper employs a quantitative survey of 182 SMEs. The addition of this quantitative sample enables a more analytical approach to be employed to aid our understanding of the particular nature of SME relationship marketing in an international context. Two different methodologies, factor analysis and cluster analysis are used for this purpose. Finally, the paper investigates the link between relationship activities and export performance. The paper confirms the usefulness of the Merrilees‐Tiessen classification of SME international marketing strategies, develops a new classification of SME international relationship marketing, and establishes a link between superior relationship activities and superior export performance.

SME International Market Entry: The Role of Serendipity

The most commonly used framework for analysing international market selection and entry is the classic, relatively formal planning model. This model emphasises detailed, numeric assessment of the export potential of different countries. The relevance of the formal model for small and medium sized firms has been questioned. A number of studies (including Brush, 1995) allude to the more informal, unplanned nature of small firm exporting.

SME International E-Commerce Activity

This paper examines small and medium enterprise (SME) internationalization and the Internet. The economic importance of SMEs is widely recognized through their 40% to 60% contribution to employment and value-added in most OECD countries (OECD 2002a)1. Further, SMEs account for 20% to 25% of global exports (OECD 2002a). The 1990′s expansion of economic globalization, in concert with the not completely unrelated growth of the World Wide Web (WWW has set the stage for an even greater SME participation in global markets. Globalization, the WWW and SME internationalization became ubiquitous during the 1990s. Trade currently comprises about 20% of world GDP. Depending on the country, 40% to 60% of the population of developed nations is Internet users (International Telecommunication Union 2003). In 2002, more than 60% of Canadian, 55% of US and 45% of European Union (EU) SMEs had adopted Internet business solutions (McClean et al. 2003). Recent research on the international activities of SMEs shows that start-up companies, especially those in high-tech sectors, are internationalizing at increasingly faster rates (Oviatt and McDougall 1997; Schrader et al. 2000; Knight 2000).