Navigating Internationalisation: Motivations and Barriers for SMEs in Sabah
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37134/Keywords:
SME internationalisation, Motive, BarrierAbstract
This study explores the perception of motives and barriers to the internationalisation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sabah, Malaysia. The study compares the views of SMEs with low levels of internationalisation with those with a high level of internationalisation. The results showed that for SMEs with high levels of internationalisation, the main barriers include management, task and socialcultural, financial management, and government and economic, political/legal barriers. In contrast, SMEs with low levels of internationalisation find financial, government and economic, political/legal, and marketing as the top barriers. In addition, the motives for SMEs with high levels of internationalisation include foreign market opportunities, domestic market saturation, orders from foreign customers and profit and growth goals. Meanwhile, the motives for SMEs with low levels of internationalisation include foreign market opportunities, expanding seasonal product sales, overproduction and availability of skilled labour. The findings support a mixed theoretical foundation for motives and barriers to internationalisation. Besides, the results underline the significance of tailored strategies to address the different barriers and motivations SMEs experience at different stages of internationalisation. This study gives valuable insights that practitioners or policymakers can use to achieve global competitiveness and promote successful international engagement among SMEs in Sabah.
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