SMEs in international contexts: an Italian perspective

International business strategies by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are a crucial issue for Italian economy. The process of internationalization seems to be an effective but complex solution for enterprises to survive in the current financial and economic crisis. Thus, this process may require deep changes in decision making, management, organizational and marketing procedures. The paper presents the results of a quantitative research on SMEs located in Monza and Brianza province − one of the most productive territories in Italy. The aim is to analyze why and how these SMEs do behave towards internationalization (current and future entry modes, motivations, advantages and difficulties) referring to four key areas: innovation and technology, networking, “green” approach and human resources competences. A questionnaire was distributed to 792 enterprises with a redemption rate of 24.37%. The data were collected with CAWI method and processed with Rasch analysis, PCA Principal Components Analysis and Cluster analysis methods. Four different clusters have emerged with specific approaches.