THE COMPETITIVE REPOSITIONING OF SMEs WITHIN THE PROCESS OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

This paper aims to analyze how the international process of competition among SMEs is increasingly based on the localization of various activities on a global scale, with particular reference to production, marketing and R&D. This rule also applies to firms from the Marche area, who are compelled to elaborate new strategies of international expansion. They are therefore induced to transform their presence in foreign markets from exporters to insiders, in order to successfully realize a more competitive position within international business markets, in other words, within the ‘global supply chain’. The study seeks to understand the motives for the internationalization of the SMEs, a form of internationalization that involves production activities and objectives regarding competition and the market. It is important to be aware that the decision making process needs to be rapid, in a context in which information is incomplete and partial, and where decisions are subject to continual modification.