The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of an
internationalization strategy and its impact on success and business performance. To
achieve this objective, data were collected through surveys using a structured
questionnaire administered to Polish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that
are involved in launching and developing their products in international markets. The
only condition for the inclusion of companies was that they must have more than five
years of experience in export toward foreign markets. The objective of this chapter is to
1/Carry out an empirical study on the internationalization strategies of Polish firms;
2/Assess strategies that companies implement, as part of an internationalization
process; and 3/Identify key successful factors with regard to corporate strategies
associated with their international expansion. A total of 385 usable responses were
collected. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the reliability and
validity of the measurement model, and the structural equation modeling technique
was used to test the research model. The results of the study confirm that
internationalization strategies of Polish SMEs are influenced by six factors that are:
managerial expertise, dynamic capabilities, risk aversion, alliance capabilities, foreign
market orientation and markets knowledge. In the same vein, the study identifies a
positive impact of the internationalization strategy determinants and success and
business performance achievement. Future researchers attempting to replicate and
extend these findings may be able to investigate other specific actors and groups that
are involved in export activities. This would be an excellent way to validate the current
model relationships, particularly the internationalization strategy formulation and
implementation in light of success and business performance.
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