O USO DE NETWORKS NO PROCESSO DE INTERNACIONALIZAÇÃO: APLICAÇÃO A PEQUENAS E MÉDIAS EMPRESAS

Abstract

Authors as Coviello and Munro (1995, 1997), Ghemawat and Ghada (2000), and Cruz-Carreon (2007) argue that there is increasing visibility and importance given to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Some authors argue, indeed, that the growth of SMEs is recognized as a crucial factor for a nation’s economic development. The objective of this work is to understand how the networks can help the internationalization of SMEs. This study performs a theoretical analysis of the theory of networks, analyzing the scenarios of application, their advantages and disadvantages and published cases that help understand the implications. This study found evidence of use of networks by SMEs for their internationalization, as well as the relevance of the role of managers in the decisions of international expansion and the formation of networks. Finally, it is concluded that the development of networks has been showing increasingly valuable to SMEs.