Internationalisation of Dutch SMEs

Abstract

Whereas the Dutch business sector as a whole is among the largest exporters, importers and foreign direct investors, Dutch SMEs, as compared to SMEs from other European countries, occupy a position in the middle with respect to the share of enterprises that export, import or invest abroad. In the coming years an increase in the international involvement of Dutch SMEs is expected. In this report the following subjects are adressed: Overview of the internationalisation of Dutch SME's, the internalisation of Dutch SME's from an international perspective, and trends in internalisation. The results are based on data from the EIM- SME Policy Panel 2004, the ENSR Enterprise Survey 2003, expert interviews and a literature review.