Internationalization of markets and SME development: Some results from an international comparative study

Many firms in transition economies are faced with the increasing internationalization processes, which present both opportunities and threats for SMEs. The project on which this paper is based is concerned with the effects of a variety of internationalization processes. Apart from an internationalization of markets, these include the internationalization of production, the internationalization of capital, the internationalization of human capital and the internationalization of regulatory regimes, which govern the conditions in which products are produced and sold. In the paper we will focus mainly on the effects of an increasing internationalization of markets, highlighting the nature and extent of the competitiveness of SMEs in the surveyed countries in foreign and domestic markets.