기업가의 전문성과 중소기업 국제화 = Expert Competency of SME Entrepreneur and Firm Internationalization

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Drawing on the theory of expert competency this paper develops a model suggesting that entrepreneurs’ prior experiences influence SME age and degree of internationalization. It is argued that international expertise and founding expertise have different effects on venture age at internationalization. Moreover, it is proposed that age at first international entry, founding expertise, and international expertise independently and conjointly influence venture internationalization degree. It was tested the model using hierarchical linear regressions and data from internationalized entrepreneurs. The findings reveal diverging effects of international and founding expertise on age at internationalization and significant two-way interactions between entrepreneurs’ expertise and age at internationalization in explaining SME degree of internationalization. To conclude, this study examined the effect of different types of entrepreneurs’ expertise on central determinants of SME internationalization. Specifically, It was showed that international expertise accelerates and that founding expertise delays first moves into international markets. Moreover, It was showed that the positive effect of early internationalization on SME degree of internationalization is contingent on entrepreneurs’ international expertise and founding expertise. These results emphasize the complex role of entrepreneurs and their experience in internationalization and support a cognitive perspective on international entrepreneurship.