An examination of strategic orientation profiles of low- and high-performing international SMEs

Abstract

Strategic orientations are believed to be associated with the international performance of SMEs, but empirical evidence on the subject is scarce. Addressing this research gap, the present study examines whether low- and high-performing international SMEs emphasize different strategic orientations to different extents. Three different strategic orientations, namely entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and brand orientation, are being examined. Using independent samples t-test, the authors analyze a data of 385 effective responses from Italian international SMEs, concentrating on two separate performance metrics, namely (1) success in new customer acquisition and (2) success in customer retention. The findings indicate that internationally operating SMEs that perform well in terms of both customer acquisition and customer retention are more market, entrepreneurial and brand-oriented than those SMEs that perform weaker in this area.