This study uses the absorptive capacity perspective and adds the firm's commitment to enhance the internationalization process of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is proposed that each of the dimensions of absorptive capacity should be considered a separate capability that exists prior to internationalization and that enhances and reinforces the firm's ability to take advantage of its resources to advance international expansion and that internationalization has an effect on firm performance. Based on the absorptive capacity perspective, it is further proposed that an SME's organizational learning, which is gained from international expansion, will influence the relationship between internationalization and the firm's performance. The central theme of the proposed model is, therefore, that understanding the relationships among an SME's absorptive capacity, its abilities, and its commitments to internationalization can improve understanding of the relationship between internationalization and performance. The conceptual framework presented in this study indicates that the process of absorptive capacity which flows across SMEs is complex and it involves multiple levels of analysis. I argued that the moderating effect of absorptive capacity needs to be explicitly transferred to SMEs if it is to have a sustained effect on firm performance through internationalization. Adapting absorptive capacity perspective, my model derives key determinants that influence SMEs' performance, through internationalization, and examines how absorptive capacity leads to the creation of internationalization of SMEs. The perspective advanced here describes how all four facets of absorptive capacity -acquiring, assimilating, transforming, and exploiting -are geared toward internationalization of SMEs and produced competitive advantage for SMEs.

La thèse apporte un éclairage sur le rôle des mouvements sociaux dans le développement de secteurs émergents en ligne avec les valeurs d'un mouvement social. Le premier chapitre remet en cause l'idée selon laquelle activistes et entreprises ont des intérêts divergents et le cantonnement des mouvements sociaux à un rôle de confrontation.Les propositions développées visent à expliquer pourquoi les actions des organisations de mouvements sociaux (SMO)sns dimension d'opposition revêtent une importance pour les entreprises et à quelles conditions les SMO influencent les décisions stratégiques des entreprises. Le deuxième chapitre de la thèse examine si le soutien apporté aux organisations de mouvements sociaux proche d'une industrie est lié à une augmentation de l'engagement des entreprises au sein de ce secteur. Cette hypothèse est testée empiriquement et confirmée en utilisant une base de données longitudinale de producteurs européens de panneaux solaires. De plus, il est démontré que le type d'entreprise et le niveau d'engagement passé modèrent le lien entre le soutien apporté aux SMO et l'augmentation de l'engagement de l'entreprise vis-à-vis de l'industrie. Le dernier chapitre examine la mise en vigueur de politiques favorables aux énergies solaires au sein des pays de l'Union Européenne. Les résultats empiriques suggèrent que de telles politiques peuvent en partie s'expliquer par l'interaction entre la densité d'entreprises de novo dans un pays et le soutien aux SMO. Cette thèse contribue à la littérature en management stratégique, à la théorie des mouvements sociaux ainsi qu'à l'analyse de la création d'industries / This thesis sheds light on the role of social movement organizations in the developement of nascent sectors that are aligned with the values of a social movement.The first research chapter questions the assumption that activists and firms have divergent interests, and the emphasis on the confrontational role of social movements.Propositions are developed to explain why non-oppositional social movement organizations' (SMOs) actions matter for fims, and when SMOs willl influence firms' strategic behavior.The second research chapter investigates whether support for social movement organizations sympathetic to an industry is linked to increased commitments of firms to the focal sector.Using a unique longitudinal dataset of European solar cell producers, this hypothesis is tested empirically and confirmed; further, it is demonstrated that the type of firms and their prior commitments moderate the link between SMO support and increased firm commitment to the industry.The last research chapter investigates the enactment of favorable policies for solar energy across EU countries. Empirical findings suggest that such policies can be partly explained by the interaction between de novo firm density in a country and SMO support. This dissertation contributes to strategic management, social movement theory, and studies of industry creation