THE IMPACT OF THE NUMBER OF SERVICED REGIONAL MARKETS IN REDUCING THE PERCEPTION OF BARRIERS TO EXPORT: THE CASE OF CHINESE MANUFACTURING SMES

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore the relative perceptions of Chinese manufacturing SME decision makers, who are involved in different numbers of overseas markets, towards selected barriers to export. This research investigates and compares the perceptions of Chinese SME decision makers who have experience of differing numbers of regional markets. Existing literature implies that experiential knowledge is a key regulator of resource commitment to foreign markets. The accumulation of experiential knowledge should be increased as enterprises operate in a greater number of diverse markets. Subsequently, it could be expected that this accumulation of experiential knowledge should be an enabling factor in overcoming or mitigating the barriers to internationalization and should thus reduce the perceptions of barriers. The research tests this proposition utilizing a self-administered questionnaire. It assesses the perception of difficulty of the selected barriers and then statistically analyses the differences in perception between respondents with experience in differing number of geographical regions. The research methodology adopted a quantitative approach and data was collected from 119 SME decision makers in China who were involved in exporting to different numbers of regional markets. The data was then subjected to statistical analysis using between-group tests of difference. The findings highlight differences in perceptions of certain key barriers to internationalization based on the number of geographical export markets that SME manufacturers are actively involved in.