Abstract

The increasing globalization of markets and businesses is playing a major role on the pace at which small and medium enterprises (SMEs) internationalize. Within this context, the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and the internationalization of SMEs in developing countries is an important area of academic research. This paper reviews the literature in an effort to provide an understanding of this relation. It proposes a conceptual model of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and the internationalization activity of exporting, and advances a number of propositions for additional research. The paper concludes by presenting areas for future research regarding the entrepreneurial orientation–internationalization (export performance) relationship.

Key words: Developing countries, entrepreneurial orientation, export performance, internationalization, innovativeness, pro-activeness, risk taking and SMEs