Managing intangible assets in international contexts: an empirical analysis on Monza and Brianza SMEs

The paper presents the results of a quantitative research on 886 SMEs of one of the most productive territories in Italy. The aim is to analyze their internationalization strategies, the entry modes selected and the role played by intangible assets when operating abroad. A questionnaire was distributed with a redemption rate of 21.8%. The data were collected with CAWI method and processed with PCA and Cluster analysis methods. Different strategic approaches have emerged. Briefly we point out that for the respondents the internationalization process is something consolidated and crucial for their growth, and this is true also for small firms. They go abroad to react to a decreasing domestic demand (both Italian and European) but above all to fulfill the foreign requests (B2B customers). As for entry modes, direct investments are the most diffused, although strategic approach differ among clusters. Intangible resources are key factors for them to keep competitive.