Internationalization of SMEs and market orientation: A study of customer knowledge, networks and cultural knowledge

This paper studies the context of market orientation and the contribution of customer knowledge, networking, and cultural knowledge to market orientation particularly to the internationalization of firms in developing economies. A multiple case approach is adopted with four Swedish firms internationalizing to the Indian market. The data was obtained through personal interviews with follow-up questions. The study highlights the importance of customer knowledge, networking, and cultural knowledge for foreign SMEs in the initial stages of internationalization. It proposes that a holistic market sensing of the target market can be achieved as the three constructs contribute to the market orientation of the firms and help in devising relevant strategic fit with the market. Limitations are associated with the small but unique size of the respondents as the context is limited to Swedish SMEs with experience in the Indian market. The study opens up directions for more research in other Nordic regions to strengthen the regional insights for the issue. The study is original in that it highlights the role of market sensing as customer knowledge, networking, and cultural knowledge strengthen the market orientation of the firm. It addresses the research gap about limited research in developing market contexts for SME internationalization and specifically on Swedish SMEs in the Indian market.