Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study was conducted to determine the need of SMMEs with regard to the availability and organisation of information. Literature on the subjects of information that is available in SMMEs and how this information should be organised was studied to determine whether it provides SMMEs with enough knowledge to find external information and extract internal information. The literature regarding information management and organisation was also studied to determine whether it can be used by a owner/manager of an SMME to organise its information in such a way that it can be retrieved and used. The study also included an empirical part with the purpose of discovering the current practices regarding the collection, organisation and use of information in SMMEs. Twenty-four structured interviews were conducted in four towns, namely Kuilsriver, Stellenbosch, Upington and Makhado (Louis Trichardt). During the interviews a questionnaire was used to investigate the uses of computers, the availability and need for information from the external and internal environment, and lastly electronic and manual systems used to organise information. When the interviews were concluded the systems were, especially the electronic folder systems, further investigated through observation. This provided an excellent opportunity to discover the usefulness of a system and even what type of information is really available and needed. It was found that SMME owner/managers are mostly aware of internal information, but do not know how to extract it or what other application possibilities it has. External information is not widely available or used. The only external information available is that which the SMMEs are required to have by law. Information organisation, although critically important to all SMMEs, was mostly not done effectively. Electronic folder structures and manual filing systems are mostly used for information organisation, but they are not effectively used because of lack of skill and no other literature or association to turn to. To assist SMMEs in the development of a folder structure system a number of guidelines are provided that will help to design a natural or structured language system tailored to the specific needs of the business. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie is gedoen om vas te stel wat klein, medium en mikro ondernemings se behoeftes rakende die beskikbaarheid en die organisering van inligting, is. Literatuur wat hierdie twee onderwerpsareas dek, is bestudeer om vas te stel of dit genoeg kennis aan die ondernemings oordra om eksterne inligting op te spoor, en interne inligting te onttrek. Literatuur wat handel oor inligtingsbestuur en inligtingsorganisering is bestudeer om uit te vind of dit deur 'n eienaar/bestuurder van 'n klein onderneming gebruik sou kon word om inligting te organiseer, sodat dit weer opgespoor kan word. 'n Empiriese studie het ook deeI uitgemaak van die algehele studie en het daarop gefokus om vas te stel wat die huidige praktyke rakende versameling, organisering en gebruik van inligting in klein ondernemings is. Vier en twintig gestruktureerde onderhoude is in vier dorpe, naamlik Kuilsrivier, Stellenbosch, Upington en Makhado (Louis Trichardt), gevoer. Gedurende die onderhoude is 'n vraelys gebruik om ondersoek in te stel na die gebruike van rekenaars, die beskikbaarheid en gebruik van interne en eksterne inligting en, laastens, die elektroniese en handstelsels wat gebruik word in klein ondernemings. Na afloop van die onderhoude is stelsels verder ondersoek deur middel van observasie van veral elektroniese leergidsstelsels. Die observasie het 'n guldige geleentheid gebied om die bruikbaarheid van die stelsel en selfs die inligtingsbehoeftes van die onderneming te toets. Daar is bevind dat die eienaars/bestuurders van klein ondernemings wel bewus is van die interne inligting, maar nie die kennis het om dit te herwin of om inligting in ander prosesse toe te pas nie. Eksterne inligting word nie algemeen gebruik nie. Die enigste wat meestal voorkom is eksterne inligting wat volgens wet in die besit van die onderneming moet wees. Inligtingsorganisering is wel as van kritieke belang aangedui deur alle klein besighede, maar in die meeste word dit glad nie effektief toegepas nie. Elektroniese leerqidsstelsels en liasseerkabinette word algemeen gebruik, maar 'n tekort aan vaardighede en literatuur om leiding te gee veroorsaak dat hulle nie effektief gebruik kan word nie. Om klein besighede behulpsaam te wees met die ontwikkeling van leerstelsels is 'n aantal riglyne verskaf. Hierdie riglyne sal die klein besighede van hulp kan wees in die ontwikkeling van 'n natuurlike- of gestruktuurde taal stelsel wat by die behoeftes van die besigheid aangepas kan word.

[pt] As variáveis determinantes do desempenho das pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) estão associadas aos aspectos de capacidade empreendedora, economia regional, posicionamento no mercado e gestão operacional. Todos esses aspectos são influenciados pelo uso da tecnologia da informação (TI). Esta tese investiga os fatores intervenientes no processo de gestão dessas empresas e propõe um modelo que contempla a TI como parte integrante do planejamento empresarial. O modelo, baseado na Teoria das Competências, identifica no contexto do negócio da empresa os fatores críticos ao seu sucesso, as capacidades e recursos necessários à sua sustentação e as métricas que deverão refletir a evolução dos resultados da empresa em relação aos seus objetivos. Associados a estas capacidades são identificados os recursos de TI, que deverão ser aplicados para alavancar as competências existentes ou desenvolver novas competências, em função do foco estratégico e posicionamento da empresa no mercado. Foi realizada uma pesquisa empírica, com o uso de survey e modelagem de equações estruturais, para caracterizar os fatores intervenientes que contribuem para o sucesso da utilização destes recursos. Esta pesquisa tomou como universo as empresas manufatureiras dos estados do Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais, que representam 21 por cento das PMEs de alimentos e bebidas do País. Na pesquisa empírica foi postulado o efeito da Competência em TI no Desempenho da empresa, intermediado pelo Aprendizado organizacional e o Uso Estratégico de TI. A importância da investigação prendeu-se à necessidade de se desenvolver um modelo de implantação de TI mais aderente às idiossincrasias do setor. A construção deste modelo contemplou a TI como um recurso estratégico. O modelo foi implantado em uma empresa de médio porte, com o uso de pesquisa-ação. No primeiro ciclo de implantação a empresa apresentou melhorias no desempenho operacional, com impacto registrado em métricas chaves para o sucesso da organização. No segundo ciclo a empresa implementou uma nova estratégia de manufatura em função da atualização da análise de contexto do negócio. / [en] The determinant variables of the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are associated to aspects of entrepreneurial capacity, regional economy, positioning in the market and type of operational management. These aspects are all influenced by the use of information technology (IT). This study investigates the intervening factors in the management process of these companies and proposes a model that contemplates IT as an integrant part of the enterprise planning. The model, based on the Competence Theory, identifies in the business context of the company the critical success factors, the capacities and resources necessary to it sustain and the metrical which should reflect the evolution of the results of the company in relation to its objectives. Associated to these capacities, IT resources are identified to be applied to upgrade the existing competences, or todevelop new ones, according to the strategic focus and positioning of the company in the market. It was conducted an empirical research, with survey and structured equation modeling, that characterizes the intervening factors which contributes to the successful use of this resource. The universe of this research was the manufacturing enterprises of Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, that represents 21 per cent of the Food and Beverage SMEs of the country. It is also postulate the effect of IT Competence on the Enterprise Performance, intermediate by Organizational Learning and the IT Strategic Use. The importance of the investigation was linked to the need to develop an IT implementation model more adequate to the sector idiosyncrasy. The model construction contemplates the IT as a strategic resource. The model was implemented in a median size company with the use of action-research. During the first implementation cycle the enterprise showed an upgrade of operational performance, with an impact at the key metrics for the organization success. At the second cycle, the company implemented a new manufacturing strategy after a new business context analysis.

Submitted by Edileide Reis (leyde-landy@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-10T18:34:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 José.pdf: 676326 bytes, checksum: 8224c045aca0243b25c7e8d69ac03c15 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles(rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-04-22T19:38:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 José.pdf: 676326 bytes, checksum: 8224c045aca0243b25c7e8d69ac03c15 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-22T19:38:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 José.pdf: 676326 bytes, checksum: 8224c045aca0243b25c7e8d69ac03c15 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / As organizações têm considerado a responsabilidade socioambiental como uma importante diretriz para definir as estratégias corporativas, devido aos riscos ambientais das suas atividades. Portanto, adotar práticas de gestão com foco na produção mais limpa e no consumo sustentável, envolvendo todo o processo produtivo e a cadeia de fornecedores, é de suma importância para a sobrevivência dos negócios. Este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar as principais iniciativas de gestão ambiental, os fatores motivadores, as barreiras e dificuldades enfrentadas pelas pequenas e médias empresas para melhorar o desempenho ambiental. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo de caso do Programa de Qualificação de Fornecedores, coordenado pelo Instituto Euvaldo Lodi (IEL). Uma amostra de empresas envolvidas com o programa foi estudada, bem como a realização da pesquisa bibliográfica a partir de fontes primárias e secundárias. Verificou-se que a conscientização socioambiental, atendimento à legislação e a redução de resíduos são os motivos que mais influenciam as organizações para envolver-se num projeto de implantação de práticas de gestão ambiental. Já a falta de recursos, a percepção dos requisitos normativos como muito burocráticos e a falta de competência da equipe são as maiores barreiras. Dentro do universo pesquisado, as iniciativas ambientais mais utilizadas pelas empresas para melhorar o desempenho ambiental são: Política Ambiental, Programa de Gestão de Resíduos Sólidos (PGRS) e a Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental. Todos os dados analisados no referencial teórico revelaram que a o atendimento aos requisitos do cliente é o principal motivador de pequenas e médias empresas para melhorar o desempenho ambiental, embora esse fator não tenha sido indicado nesta pesquisa como o mais importante. Além disso, a escassez de recursos, não apenas a financeira alegada, mas também a de pessoas são as grandes barreiras a serem superadas. Finalmente, a partir das conclusões obtidas, foram recomendadas alternativas para a implantação da gestão ambiental nas pequenas e médias empresas, além de ações de melhorias para o Programa de Qualificação de Fornecedores. / Salvador

SMEs are considered as the best possible vehicle to reduce the unemployment rate and increase economic participation in the country, specifically for historically disadvantaged people. Due to, among other things, the lack of small business management skills, the potential of SMEs cannot be fully realised. From the study it was found that one of the major reasons why SMEs fail to secure loans is a lack of management accounting skills. This lack of management accounting skills is due to a lack of mentors, training and business education. The study has identified a number of management accounting skills which most of the venture capital providers consider when they evaluate applications for loans. From empirical survey it was considered that budgeting, cash flow management and product costing were considered as imperative by most venture capital providers. / Management Accounting / (M. Com.)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-02T21:42:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JefersonSantos.pdf: 612956 bytes, checksum: 5aa0ece1940b5b9ff664853fc690a230 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-25 / The central aim of this study is to identify the influence of the main features of the entrepreneurial orientation of a SME-Small and Medium Enterprise manger of the metal-mechanic sector of São Bernardo do Campo, in the process of internationalization of the company. The research, by means of a case study in four companies in São Bernardo do Campo, a city that concentrates many companies and is responsible for a substantial portion of the total trade of the whole Brazil, identifies the influence of the main characteristics of an entrepreneurial orientation manager of an SME. In structuring and validation of the research, by means of the case study, were interviewed by author the four main managers of these SMEs, under a structured script, that faced with the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and theories of internationalization, able to complete the success in this process is directly linked to the guidance of his manager, who may or may not refer to a companys internationalization process, therefore, the manager needs to master orientation of these dimensions in a systematic way and apply them to your business. / O objetivo central deste estudo é o de identificar a influência das principais características da orientação empreendedora de um gestor de PME-Pequena e Média Empresa do setor metal-mecânico de São Bernardo do Campo, no processo de internacionalização da empresa. A pesquisa, por meio de estudo de caso em quatro empresas do município de São Bernardo do Campo, município que concentra muitas empresas e é responsável por importante parcela da corrente de comércio do Brasil inteiro, identifica a influência das principais características da orientação empreendedora de um gestor destas PME. Na estruturação e validação do instrumento de investigação, por meio do estudo de caso, foram entrevistados pelo autor os quatro principais gestores destas PME, sob um roteiro estruturado, que confrontado com as dimensões das orientações empreendedoras e as teorias de internacionalização, conseguiu concluir que o sucesso neste processo está diretamente ligado à orientação do seu gestor, que pode ou não encaminhar a empresa a um processo de internacionalização, para tanto, este gestor precisa dominar parte destas dimensões de orientação de forma sistêmica e aplicá-las no seu negócio.

The presented thesis deals with provided services of selected accommodation, specifically is it guest house U Studeného potoka. The aim of the thesis is to analyze current offer of selected accommodation and current offer of competitive accommodations in selected area. The important aim of the thesis is to suggest the innovation of product of guest house U Studeného potoka. The thesis will identify satisfaction of customers with currently offered services of selected accommodation and their proposals for development. The survey will be extended by information provided by operator of selected accommodation.

This study shows the theme performance and competitiveness of 16 enterprises that are part of a net of travel and tourism agencies in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Indicators have been developed to evaluate the period before the actual participation on the net and also the period after the participation on the net. The research is classified as qualitative. A deep interview with the net president and a questionnaire with the managers of the 16 companies were applied to collect data. The performance and competitiveness indicators were developed in a meeting with the managers of the companies that make part of this research. Between the 32 performance and competitiveness indicators analyzed in the companies that belong to the net, 25 indicators presented some improvement, 6 stayed as they were before and after the companies get into the net and only one presented a result lower than the one obtained before the companies start to make part of the net. In the 25 indicators that present some improvement there were: executive behavior, relations and partnerships with companies of the same industry, competitive advantage, motivation and satisfaction at work, improvement in the commissions generated by the providers, number of providers of negotiated products and monthly average incomes. About the performance indicators that stayed equal before and after the companies start to be a part of the net, it is possible to highlight the improve of the salaries. The only indicator that showed a decrease after the companies start to make part of the net was the one of the benefits generated by the providers. The results of this research indicates that the participation of the MPMES in a cooperation net improve their competitive performance. / Este estudo aborda o tema de desempenho e competitividade de 16 empresas pertencentes a uma rede de agências de viagens e turismo do estado do Rio Grande do sul. Desenvolveu-se indicadores que avaliaram comparativamente o período pré-participação na rede e período subseqüente à participação na rede relativo a indicadores de desempenho e competitividade das empresas. A pesquisa foi exploratória descritiva de levantamento e de natureza qualitativa, a partir de uma entrevista em profundidade com o presidente da rede e um questionário com os respectivos gestores das 16 empresas. Os indicadores de desempenho e melhoria da competitividade tiveram origem em reunião com os gestores das empresas foco da pesquisa, os quais foram identificados de acordo com a estrutura interna das organizações, a fim de que a sua utilização estivesse alinhada com as estruturas existentes. Entre os 32 indicadores de desempenho e competitividade analisados nas empresas pertencentes à rede, concluiu-se que 25 indicadores apresentaram grau de melhoria, 6 indicadores permaneceram da mesma forma antes e depois das empresas pertencerem à rede e apenas 1 indicador apresentou resultado menor depois que as empresas passaram a fazer parte da rede. Dos 25 indicadores que apresentaram grau de melhoria destacam-se: comportamento empreendedor, relações e parcerias com empresas do mesmo segmento, vantagem competitiva frente à concorrência, grau de motivação e satisfação dos colaboradores, aumento nas comissões geradas pelos fornecedores, número de fornecedores de produtos comercializados e faturamento médio bruto mensal. Para os indicadores de desempenho que permaneceram iguais antes e depois das empresas pertencerem à rede, destaca-se o aumento salarial dos colaboradores, sendo que o único indicador de desempenho que apresentou resultado menor depois que as empresas passaram a fazer parte da rede foi o de benefícios gerados pelos fornecedores. Os resultados deste estudo e pesquisa indicam que a participação das MPMEs em rede de cooperação melhoram o desempenho competitivo das mesmas a partir dos indicadores estudados.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDCC.pdf: 1564951 bytes, checksum: 46396a40dddeff65ba4d698792070c2c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-06-22 / Building actions related to health and safety in small and medium enterprises are not easy tasks, since these enterprises need to deal with poor information, lack of available resources and methodologies developed according to big company characteristics. Based on Case Studies techniques, the present study investigated in four SME not only the way health and safety interventions are carried on, but the reasons why they are conducted that way as well. This investigation made us conclude that lack of available resources, poor information access, the firm culture and management model exert clear influence on the way Heath and Safety actions are conducted. Ergonomics, if conducted in the small firm, will be guided by perception and based on informality, either for changes or measures of the changes. We can conclude that some rules and laws, as well as ergonomic tools, should be developed according to the limitations and needs of the small and medium firms, and so be used to help improve health and safety into them. / Construir ações relacionadas à saúde e segurança nas pequenas e Médias empresas não é tarefa fácil, uma vez que estas empresas precisam lidar com o provimento deficitário de informações, poucos recursos disponíveis e metodologias de ação desenvolvidas de acordo com as características das empresas de grande porte. A partir de estudos de caso, o presente estudo investigou, em quatro PME, a maneira como ações de saúde e segurança são conduzidas, bem como as justificativas para sua forma de condução. A investigação comprovou que aspectos tais como poucos recursos financeiros, pouco acesso à informação, a cultura e o modelo gerencial assumido, exercem grande influência sobre a forma como as ações em SST serão conduzidas, sendo que a Ergonomia, quando houver, será característica pela condução perceptiva e informal das mudanças no local de trabalho. Concluiu-se que algumas normas e leis, assim como ferramentas ergonômicas, deveriam ser desenvolvidas e adaptadas às PME, de forma a facilitar sua utilização e assim promover uma melhora das condições de saúde e segurança nas PMEs, de acordo com suas necessidades e limitações.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:52:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5916.pdf: 2486327 bytes, checksum: e4b0116f307471080e7edff59fcf4b38 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-13 / The Performance Measurement System (PMS) are one of the essential tools to withstand the demands of information at all levels within an organization, and also is an important means of measuring the effectiveness of their business strategy. However, due to several peculiarities present in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), this tool is not always implemented and used in full. Given the above, this work aims to identify constraints that make it difficult the implementation and use of a PMS in SMEs. For this, a literature search and also a survey research was conducted, covering a unit of analysis of 21 industries in the metal-mechanical sector. This research was conducted in the region of Limeira, an important industrial center, located within the São Paulo state. As a result, it was found that SMEs face many difficulties in implementing PMS and this phenomenon is due to the fact that SMEs have characteristics that differ from large companies. Factors such as lack of resources, excessive informality, lack of a strategic long-term vision and lack of knowledge of this tool have been identified as existing in most of the surveyed companies. These factors added the characteristics of business, become serious constraints to the development and use of this tool. / O Sistema de Medição de Desempenho (SMD) é uma das ferramentas essenciais para suportar as exigências de informação em todos os níveis dentro de uma organização, além de ser um importante meio de medir a eficácia de sua estratégia de negócios. No entanto, devido a várias peculiaridades presentes nas pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs), esta ferramenta nem sempre é implantada e utilizada na sua íntegra. Diante desta problemática, este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar as restrições que dificultam a implementação e uso de um SMD nas PMEs. Para isso, foram realizadas dois tipos de pesquisas: a bibliográfica e a do tipo survey, abrangendo uma unidade de análise de 21 indústrias do setor metal-mecânico. Os dados foram coletados na região da cidade de Limeira - importante polo industrial, localizado no interior do estado de São Paulo. Como resultado, verificou-se que as PMEs enfrentam muitas dificuldades na implementação de SMD e este fenômeno ocorre porque estas empresas têm características que as diferem das grandes empresas. Fatores como a falta de recursos, a informalidade excessiva, a falta de uma visão estratégica de longo prazo e falta de conhecimento desta ferramenta, foram identificados como existentes na maioria das empresas pesquisadas. Estes fatores somado as características do negócio, se transformam em sérias restrições ao desenvolvimento e à utilização desta ferramenta.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) occupy a place of strategic importance in most of the developed and emerging economies. This is primarily because they contribute significantly to employment, GDP, exports and wealth creation in many economies .In addition, they stimulate innovative ideas, entrepreneurial skills and are adaptable to the changing conditions of business environment. An important characteristic of SME growth in recent decades has been its penetration and expansion in the international market to accomplish the objective of growth. This is commonly known as internationalization. The empirical studies on SME internationalization provide several indications about different factors that can be expected to influence the strategy and the degree of internationalization. Accordingly, export behavior of SMEs is determined by the internal factors involving the characteristics of SMEs. Subsequently, SMEs with limited access to financial resources, managerial abilities, and marketing skills find it difficult to enter the foreign market. These barriers would adversely affect their potential for expansion and their survival. Such firms might hardly dare to internationalize. Further, export marketing literature has recognized and highlighted the importance of external determinants that influence the entrepreneurs to initiate the internationalization activity and in formulating the strategies that would enhance their export performance A significant volume of empirical research argues that firms need to focus upon the external situation, on the element of external forces, and on managerial perceptions about these environmental attributes that should be regarded as a significant causal element in determining the internationalization activities. Therefore, SMEs in their early export stages are likely to be determined by both internal and external forces In this respect, a “holistic” approach is required which would facilitate the understanding of the multitude of issues that influence the internationalization decision .Therefore, internationalization of SMEs has to be seen from a strategic angle determined by both internal and external settings. In this view, it is highly important to analyze the factors that affect the SME internationalization decision from a holistic approach by taking into account the influence of antecedents (drivers, barriers, and firm level factors) on internationalization strategy and performance. A consolidated assessment of literature on determinants, strategies, and performance indicates that even though considerable information about these issues are available, research gaps exist in these areas. Therefore, it is to fill this gap that we have proposed a theoretical framework which has been conceptualized around the core aspects of SME internationalization process linking antecedents, strategies, and performance. The specific objectives of this study are: 1. To ascertain the factors that differentiate internationalized SMEs from non-internationalized SMEs. 2. To identify and analyze the different antecedents and its influence on the internationalization speed. 3. To examine the influence of various antecedents on the mode of exports adopted by SMEs. 4. To probe the achievements of SME internationalization in terms of scope, degree of internationalization, and economic performance in terms of sales turnover. 5. To derive policy implications for promoting SME internationalization in India. Furthermore, we decided to confine our study to Karnataka state, since this is one of the better industrially developed states in India. Initially, we approached MSMEDI, VITC and FKCCI in Bangalore to get the lists of SME exporters in the state. Subsequently, we merged all the three databases and prepared the district-wise and industry wise distribution of internationalized (exporting) SMEs in Karnataka. We cleaned the raw data as it comprised duplications. The final database comprised 1271 exporting SMEs for 2012/13. Later, we prepared a district-wise list of SME exporters. Since the Bangalore urban district accounted for 958 SMEs (75%) of the total 1271 SME exporters in Karnataka, we decided to confine our study to Bangalore district. We prepared an industry-wise list of SME exporters (as per National Industrial Classification (NIC) 2008, and found that machinery manufacturing industry accounted for a maximum share (182 out of 920) of the total SME exporters in Bangalore. Therefore, we decided to confine our study to the machinery industry SMEs in Bangalore district. Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka state and a major industrial city in India. Bangalore has become a most attractive city for the global investment and has been recognized as the IT capital of India. The study is based on an Ex Post Facto Exploratory research using primary data collected from a sample of 102 exporting and 52 non-exporting SMEs in Bangalore. The data was collected during the period November 2013 to December 2014 using a semi-structured questionnaire followed by visiting the firms and having personal interviews with entrepreneurs/senior managers of the firms and data analysis is done using appropriate statistical packages. Initially, we decided to examine and differentiate internationalized SMEs from non-internationalized SMEs in same sector, in terms of their characteristics and economic performance. Further, to bring out the factors that distinguish internationalized SMEs from non-internationalized SMEs, we carried out a binary logistic regression analysis for their general profile, technical profile and size profile by combining all the three groups of profiles together. The dependent binary variables distinguished internationalized SMEs from non-internationalized SMEs. The overall results indicate that (i) non- internationalized firms are younger than internationalized SMEs, (ii) CEOs of internationalized SMEs are older than that of the later, (iii) internationalized SMEs accounted for a higher sales turnover than non-internationalized SMEs. The very fact that internationalized SMEs accounted for a higher sales turnover than non-internationalized SMEs indicated that internationalization would have enabled SMEs to achieve a higher sales turnover relative to non-internationalized SMEs. We analyzed a range of antecedents and its impact on the international strategies and performance of internationalized SMEs. Basically, the antecedents have been classified into drivers, barriers and firm level factors. For the quantitative measurement of different kinds of drivers and barriers, a Likert type ordinal scale which ranged from 1 to 5, was used. In addition, firm level factors were also taken into account as the antecedents to analyze its influence on the SME internationalization process. Further, an Exploratory Factor Analysis was first undertaken to explain the export drivers into a few underlying dimensions. The results of the Exploratory Factor Analysis showed that the 13 identified export drivers could be reduced to three underlying dimensions. On the other hand, firms might get discouraged to internationalize, due to the obstacles faced either in the form of internal or external sources. According to the results of the Exploratory Factor Analysis, internal barriers which consisted of variables were grouped under four dimensions. The external barriers which consisted of 14 variables were grouped under two dimensions. After identifying the different determinants to SMEs internationalization, we analyzed how these identified determinants were able to differentiate between early and late in terms of internationalization speed. Thereafter, discriminant analysis was performed to analyze how well the explanatory variables were able to differentiate the two groups or categories i.e. early entrants compared to late entrants. Among the different firm level factors, CEOs age and exclusive export marketing division had a significant discriminant coefficient. The results revealed that it is the younger CEOs and their commitment towards internationalization facilitate firms to enter the international market at any early age. Further, among the different barriers, competitive constraints significantly differed between early and late internationalization stating that lack of competitiveness was a major factor responsible for the late internationalization of SMEs. Subsequently, we looked at how various determining factors (antecedents) influence the mode of exports adopted by the SMEs. Firstly, based on the survey data the mode of exports are classified as exports through (i) a multinational company, (ii) international trade exhibitions, (iii) exports through the network of friends and export organization and (iv) E-commerce. Secondly, we looked at the factors which influenced these SMEs in choosing the four alternative modes of entry for internationalization, by means of binary logistic regression technique. Further, the results revealed that those SMEs with CEOs who are less qualified, not highly committed and smaller in size relied on local MNC customers to enter the international market. Further, if SMEs are not highly competitive, face market barriers and influenced by the unanticipated conditions preferred to use MNC route. Subsequently, SMEs with more qualified CEOs’, face operating constraints and policy barriers preferred to enter international market through international trade exhibitions. Those SMEs with CEOs’ who are younger and face finance and information barriers and policy constraints facilitate firms to depend on various sources of network. Finally, SMEs with more qualified CEOs’, smaller in size and face policy barriers have entered the international market through E-commerce route. Finally, we analyzed the role of determining factors on the scope, degree of internationalization and on the economic performance of SMEs. Initially, the different determinants that influence the scope and the degree of internationalization are analyzed. Finally, we analyzed the impact of degree of internationalization on the economic performance of SMEs by using three multiple regression models. Among the firm level factors, only CEOs’ international experience positively influenced the scope of internationalization compared to those firms with CEOs who had lesser international experience. Therefore, it is the entrepreneurs’ competency and skills acquired over a period of time which facilitated firms to expand their scope of internationalization. Subsequently, internationalization speed had positively influenced the scope of internationalization indicating that those SMEs that had entered the international market at an early age were able to diversify its international market. Generally, early exporters were more entrepreneurial in the sense they were capable of identifying, exploring and exploiting opportunities abroad by means of their proactive behavior. We analyzed the influence of speed, scope of internationalization and along with the firm level factors on the degree of internationalization. The results revealed that it was the capabilities that were acquired in terms of experience and the commitment that facilitated firms to achieve a higher degree of internationalization compared to firms that were not capable and committed to internationalization. Further, internationalization speed had positively influenced the degree of internationalization indicating that those SMEs that had entered international market at an early age were able to achieve a higher degree of internationalization compared to those firms that had entered at a later age. Finally, we analyzed the influence of scope and degree of internationalization along with the antecedents on the economic performance in terms of total sales turnover. In the present study, the degree of internationalization had positively influenced the economic performance of SMEs indicating that those firms that had achieved a higher degree of internationalization were able to achieve higher sales turnover than the firms with a lesser degree of internationalization. Therefore, by means of widening foreign markets and building room for expansion, exporting to foreign markets was considered an important route for firm progress. The results of this study underline the need for policy trust to improve the international activities of SMEs. Further, from the research perspective, results provide a significant addition to the existing knowledge about the importance of entrepreneurial competency, commitment to internationalization and an appropriate strategy in explaining the internationalization efforts of SMEs in the emerging market of India.