Features of Internationalization of SMEs Under the Influence of the Institutional Environment

The article discusses the features of the internationalization of small and medium sized enterprises and their potential motives for the internationalization of activities. Classification of factors affecting the internationalization of SMEs is also proposed, which allows us to systematize the separately studied determinants into four groups: individual, intra-company, industry factors and factors of the general external environment.Based on a critical analysis of existing approaches to studying the internationalization strategy of a company, the necessity and importance of applying an institutional approach to the study of the internationalization of SMEs are substantiated.An approach to the analysis of the national institutional environment, from the point of view of its impact on the internationalization of SMEs, is proposed. Based on an empirical study, the nature of the relationship between the factors of the national institutional environment and the internationalization of SMEs, as well as the substantive signs of the mechanism of the influence of the national institutional environment on the adoption of management decisions on internationalization in SMEs, are established