High-technology firms' perceptions of their international competitiveness

This paper positions itself in the growing body of work on international entrepreneurship and investigates the perceptions of a small sample of high-technology UK firms operating in overseas markets. Some firms were found to employ a number of modes of market entry other than the exporting route prescribed by much of the existing literature and the focus of government trade assistance that is available. Quantitative analysis is undertaken to establish that few statistical differences exist between two groups of firms — those involved only in exporting and those with activities incorporating multiple forms of market entry — in relation to their perceived performance and competitiveness in overseas markets. In managing the changing circumstances of dealing with overseas markets, academics, policy makers and trainers should encourage managers to plan and balance resource constraints in accordance with the modes of market entry undertaken.