Internationalisation of SMEs and firm performance: evidences from Bangladesh

One of the key objectives of this paper is to identify the impacts of internationalisation of SMEs on firm performance. Although there have been a number of research that examined the relationship between SME internationalisation and firm performance, research from the context of smaller developing economies are really scant. This is against the fact that SMEs are main vehicle for growth in those economies and extensive research on various dimensions of SMEs including its impact on firm performance may help to better understand the operational aspects of SMEs in those economies. Using primary data and structural equation modelling to analyse those data, the paper has found that internationalisation of SMEs has significant impact on both financial and non-financial performance of SMEs in Bangladesh. More specifically, the paper has found that internationalisation impacts in two dimensions (Financial impacts and non-financial impacts) with 8 indicators (higher sales, higher profit, assets maximization, market expansion, competitive advantage, better reputation, better customer service and added knowledge)

Determinants of Brand Loyalty: A Study of the Experience-Commitment- Loyalty Constructs

Marketing strategies for brands have shifted its focus on relationships and value creation that directly links to brand loyalty, is the main focus of this paper and two key factors: brand experience and brand commitment, within automotive sector, are investigated to examine relative relationships. These factors have already been established to have a connection to brand loyalty. However, as brand commitment consists of both affective and continuance commitment, it is still somewhat unclear about which of these aspects of commitment has the greatest, or most important impact on brand loyalty. Moreover, the existing research and literature surrounding the brand experience construct is extensive. However, it is not entirely clear regarding this construct’s relationship to brand loyalty. While some authors claim that it affects brand loyalty directly, others have found that it is a dependent variable, which, alone does not have any immediate effect on brand loyalty. This study also investigates a connection between brand experience and brand loyalty as far as automotive sector is concerned, both with and without commitment as a mediator. As a result, continuance commitment was found to not have any considerable impact on the consumer’s loyalty towards a brand, it is assumed that factors such as price and other available alternatives dos not influence this desire to maintain said relationship

Conceptualizing and Measuring Perceived Service Complexity

This study focuses on the notion of Perceived Service Complexity (PSC). PSC captures ‘the difficulty to assimilate the service delivery process, as perceived by frontline employees (FLEs)’ and is conceptualized and measured through the development and validation of a multidimensional construct consisting of three factors (Task-Related, Customer-Derived and ‘Service Nature’-Derived Complexity). The findings add to the organizational frontline literature and advance scholarly understanding of how aspects of FLEs’ working environment shape their ability to assimilate the service delivery process and successfully perform their roles during their interactions with customers. Based on these findings, managerial practice can be informed of the distinct elements that shape FLEs’ perceived service complexity as well as of its ramifications for designing successfully service delivery systems for different types of services

Barriers to Enter into Foreign Markets: Evidence from SMEs in an Emerging Economy

Design/methodology/approach – This study has collected primary data through questionnaires from 212 Bangladeshi SMEs. A mixed method data analysis technique is used to analyse firms from micro and macro level. Following the running example based case study approach, this paper has developed and validated a partial least square based structural model (PLS-SEM) to assess the key barriers to entering foreign markets. Findings – In entering into foreign markets, and emerging economies, this study has identified key socio-economic barriers faced by Bangladeshi SMEs. Additionally, the study has successfully framed the obstacles as a second order hierarchical model. Originality/value – Consider that foreign market entry is perhaps more affected by social barriers as explained by existing theories, including the Uppsala model. Using institutional interpretation, this study reveals that in developing countries, SME international market expansion is more sensitive to the existence of economic barriers

The barriers of internationalization for SMEs in Bangladesh

One of the key objectives of this study is to identify the main barriers to internationalization for Bangladeshi SMEs. To fulfil this objective a hierarchical, 2 order model with four constructs was developed and tested using PLS path modelling .The four constructs identified from the literature review as the main areas that could hinder Bangladeshi SMEs internationalisation process are political, economic, social and technological. These represents the four first order variables that in the second order are constructed by 18 (manifest variables) indicators. The findings suggest that, political barriers seem to be the most influential barriers for the internationalization of Bangladeshi SMEs as they explain 83% of the overall variance. Followed by the social barriers with 79% of the overall variance, economic barriers with77% and technological barriers with 70%. Though the ranking has been done based on the relative power of individual constructs, the magnitude of difference is relatively small. Therefore, it can be argued that all these constructs are significant and therefore should be given equal attention. Similarly the PLS path model analysis shows that political and social barriers are more dominating over economic and technological barriers in Bangladesh. This study extends our knowledge on the barriers to Bangladeshi SMEs’ internationalization. Therefore, academic researchers will be able to study more in depth the identified constructs and will assist policy makers and practitioners to develop internationalisation strategies and set up strategic priorities