This dissertation focuses on how entrepreneurs learn to acquire entrepreneurial knowledge and competence, which ultimately can open doors to business success. Contemporary critics suggest that programs designed to develop general competence are not sufficiently relevant to these entrepreneurs. On the other hand, scholars and practitioners have recently noticed that external relations in formal learning networks can be a notable opportunity for learning in entrepreneurs. The aim of this dissertation is to elaborate on the processes and outcomes of government supported learning networks among entrepreneurs who work in small and medium sized enterprises. It draws on reports of four separate but interrelated research studies that author conducted. The research described in the dissertation is based on multiple theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and data sources. To gain a full understanding of the experiences of the different network participants, as well as the interactive processes within the learning network, data were collected from multiple sources: interviews, participant observation, and videotaping. The conclusions stated in appended paper 1 and 2 are primarily based on the interviews, but they are also supported by the observations and written material. Paper three focuses on the videos in combination with the interviews. Finally, to complement the qualitative research with insights regarding the relationships among trust, learning, and self-efficacy, the last paper reports the results of a quantitative survey study. The dissertation makes several major contributions to knowledge. First and foremost, by combining entrepreneurship theory and learning theory, it describes the outcomes that can emerge from formal learning networks and shows how these outcomes can have entrepreneurial consequences. Second, it suggests how the learning situation can be characterized and describes an appropriate learning environment for entrepreneurs from small and medium sized enterprises. The research also contributes to theory on how trust in formal learning networks is built and how this trust contributes to entrepreneurial learning. At the same time, it shows that the potential benefits derived from trust cannot be realized without incorporating the entrepreneur’s level of self-efficacy in the analysis. The dissertation concludes by offering suggestions for exploiting learning and business opportunities through the construction and utilization of learning networks.

This thesis investigates the processes and influential factors affecting the internationalisation of SMEs in manufacturing industries in Malaysia. Internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been widely researched but little is known of how and why internationalisation takes place in developing countries and this lack of evidence in the literature provides strong grounds for this study. Jones and Coviello (2005) suggest investigation of internationalisation should include the broad range of internationalisation theories, such as the Incremental and Rapid internationalisation models, Networking, Resource-based and International Entrepreneurship perspectives. These perspectives examine the awareness, process, driving forces and influential factors relevant to SME internationalisation. Therefore, the patterns and dimensions of internationalisation, including the modes of foreign entry, market selection, triggering factors, awareness of international opportunities were investigated, as were the problems and challenges faced by internationalising firms and the key drivers influencing the internationalisation process. A critical realism paradigm and qualitative method were employed. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Malaysian experts and 54 Malaysian-based CEOs, owners, and/ or key executives from SME manufacturing industries using a semi-structured interview guide. The data was analysed with the statistical package NVivo 7 and also manually to improve triangulation of the results. The results are largely inductive and interpretive and are presented in qualitative-themes as well as some basic statistical analyses. The findings indicate that interrelated factors influence the internationalisation process of Malaysian SMEs. Various paces, a myriad of entry modes and broad market scopes determine the pattern of internationalisation undertaken. A traditional internationalisation pattern is strongly evident, although some companies exhibited rapid and born global patterns, depending on their industry, products, organisational competencies, knowledge and access to information or because of a change of management. The main drivers of internationalisation centred on key personnel and firm competencies. The study also found that while domestic and global forces motivate internationalisation, aspects of Government policy, procedures and international requirements inhibit the process. More importantly, the findings suggest that networking relationships create internationalisation awareness and provide appropriate pathways to internationalisation for manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia and this is an area where strategies could be improved. The increasing emphasis on the SME sector for enhancing economic and social development in Malaysia means they can make substantial contributions to development and understanding how to improve internationalisation strategies will increase those gains. More transparent government policies and coherence among supporting agencies as well as structured and relevant networks would assist the internationalisation of Malaysian SMEs. Currently, internationalisation processes are constrained by limited resources and difficulty in accessing assistance and supports. This study provides new knowledge and important insights that will benefit manufacturing and other industries in Malaysia and other developing countries.

Organisational learning has been identified as a lasting source of competitive advantage in uncertain environments. Plentiful research has highlighted that knowledge and skills and the capabilities they develop are strategic resources and that effective utilisation of these resources enhances firm innovation and performance. However, in spite of this widespread recognition, family businesses, specifically family SMEs, have not been the subject of previous research exploring the strategic impact of organisational learning on innovation and firm performance. This research, therefore, sets out a theoretical framework drawing upon organisational learning theory and innovation, and explores the strategic links between organisational learning, innovation and firm performance “within” family SMEs and “between” family and non-family SMEs. The study was undertaken in an Australian context using a sample of 222 manufacturing SMEs comprised of 104 family and 118 non-family SMEs. The data were obtained from the Business Longitudinal Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics over the financial years 1995/96 - 1997/98, which provides the most recent available comprehensive longitudinal dataset of SMEs in Australia. The study involved three constructs: organisational learning, innovation and firm performance. Organisational learning was operationalised using commitment to learning, shared vision, and networking. To measure commitment to learning, three variables, employee training, management development, and comparison of performance were used. Shared vision was measured using the presence of formal planning in the firms. Networking was measured using the existence of external networks. The innovation construct was measured using product and process innovation intensity, and firm performance was measured by growth of sales and rate of return on total assets. Data were analysed using two tests: regression analysis and the Chow test. Whereas the former test was conducted to explore the direct and indirect effects of organisational learning on innovation and firm performance “within” family SMEs, the latter was conducted to compare those effects “between” family and non-family SMEs. Our “within” results, concerning the direct effects of organisational learning on innovation found that network relationships positively influenced innovation in family SMEs. With regard to the direct effects of organisational learning on performance, we found that management development and formal planning were positively linked with family SMEs’ performance. Moreover, relating to innovation and firm performance, our research concludes that innovation in family SMEs is positively linked with their performance. In the case of the indirect effect, we found that networks affect firm performance via innovation. With respect to the “between” results, we found that whereas the effects of formal planning and innovation on firm performance of family SMEs were stronger than for non-family SMEs, the effects of employee training and management development on firm performance were stronger in non-family SMEs. Concerning networks, we found a stronger effect of family SMEs’ networks on their innovation than non-family SMEs. Finally, we re-emphasised the necessity of more scholarly studies linking organisational learning with family business characteristics such as familiness, leadership, ownership, social interactions and organisational process.

In today’s technological environment, organizational capabilities for managing change are regarded as important for business survival and growth. In particular, dynamic organizational capabilities have attracted considerable research interest over the past decade. Recently several studies have suggested that dynamic capabilities may be associated with a concept termed organizational fitness. What is not clear in this emerging research stream is whether firms with superior organizational fitness are more likely to prosper than unfit firms. In addition, relatively little attention has been directed toward creating a systemic model of dynamic capabilities that explains organizational fitness. The nature of fitness has been intensively debated in the biological sciences over a period of several decades. A confusing variety of fitness definitions have emerged from this literature. The lack of an agreed definition of fitness has resulted in several streams of research on organizational fitness. As a result of this fragmentation, there has been little progress toward answering the question of how to measure organizational fitness. The fragmentation in organizational fitness literature is problematic, because research into the relationship between organizational fitness and firm performance is not well-advanced. In this study, organizational fitness is defined in terms of organizational capability to produce variation. By defining fitness in this way, the tautological criticisms leveled against existing concepts of fitness are avoided. The definition of fitness proposed here accommodates both an evolutionary learning perspective and a perspective of strategic management, and thus reflects an integrative approach to the concept. A notable feature of the literature exploring organizational fitness is that it has been focused on large corporations. However, a growing body of literature suggests that SMEs are different from large firms and need to be examined in their own right. SMEs are important contributors to business in most countries throughout the world. This study addresses that perceived gap in the literature and asks: What relationship, if any, is there between organizational fitness and business performance for SMEs? Theory is developed and tested here by means of a large sample of SMEs in New Zealand. Two distinct aspects of organizational fitness are identified for SMEs. First, survival fitness is associated with generic combinative capabilities. Second, growth fitness is associated with knowledge assimilation and transformation. SME growth fitness and survival fitness are each found to be positively related to business performance under a variety of contexts. Further, an increase of growth fitness and survival fitness provides a means of alleviating selection pressures for SMEs. That is, dynamic capabilities of knowledge assimilation and integration are found to be positively associated with SME business performance. In contrast to studies that advocate SME development of context-dependent capabilities, the findings of this study suggest an alternative perspective: variable selection pressures can be influenced by SMEs with a high level of survival and growth fitness.

This research focuses on internationalisation and e-commerce in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a significant part of the New Zealand economy. Based on interviews in ten SMEs, this study explores the internationalisation process and adoption of e-commerce in these enterprises. Both phenomena are examined separately to explore relevant issues, followed by consideration of the interrelationship between the two phenomena. Ten case studies of New Zealand SMEs engaged in international business were conducted. Qualitative data was collected in semi-structured interviews with key members of each SME. The interview data were supplemented with secondary data sources, including publicly available information on the firms and their activities. A within-case and cross-case analysis was performed based around the three research foci identified above. The research findings reveal that while there is a high level of confidence among the SMEs studied for internationalisation, e-commerce adoption in these firms was at a medium level of maturity. Facilitators and inhibitors of both internationalisation and e-commerce adoption are presented. A major contribution of the study is the consideration of the mutual effects between the two phenomena, in order to raise awareness of internationalisation and e-commerce in SMEs and their significance for SMEs’ competitiveness.

This study addresses public sector intermediaries and their role in facilitating innovation in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea. The primary aim is to understand and address the informational and relational barriers that SMEs face during the innovation process and how these are resolved through interaction. Although the government has been implementing SME support policies for several decades, the Korean National Innovation System (KNIS) has been characterised with six words: ‘strong large firms, weak small firms’. Korean Government policies for R&D have not been effective in enhancing the economic performance and innovative capabilities of SMEs and the ‘low level of competitiveness’ of SMEs obstructs knowledge interaction between firms. Policies directed at SMEs mainly focus on direct support and do not reflect the interactive nature of the innovation process. This mismatch between policy and desired outcomes has led this study to go beyond examining the informational and relational constraints. It analyses the factors influencing successful (or less successful) innovation and asks whether public intermediaries have provided an effective mechanism in resolving innovation barriers (i.e. system failures). Yet, there has been a lack of research into public intermediaries and SMEs within the National Innovation Systems (NIS) framework. The NIS approach is a loosely configured framework and the intermediary literature is fragmented and has rarely been integrated with the NIS literature. Research has tended to focus on specific functions of private intermediaries and far less on the public intermediaries, which have been playing a crucial role in facilitating innovation in Korean industry for several decades. The central focus of this study is on the knowledge interaction process between public intermediaries and SMEs occurring at multiple levels of interaction in the Korean NIS. This study therefore attempts to integrate the NIS concept and the intermediary approach to provide a robust way to explore the knowledge interaction process at meso- and micro-levels. Four functions of the intermediary are constructed to explore how they might influence SME innovation: knowledge facilitation, learning facilitation, knowledge enabling and managing interfaces. Through in-depth analysis of five case studies encompassing firms in mechatronics and IT, this study explicates the knowledge interaction process and influential factors of successful innovation. The analysis addresses a series of issues that the generic NIS concept cannot fully explain: (1) knowledge interaction at meso- and microlevels; (2) multiplicity of relationships and their evolving nature; (3) the role of public intermediaries in a specific cultural context; and (4) the heterogeneity of SMEs with their pre-existing resources and routines. Sociological perspectives especially provide insights for investigating not only the dynamic nature of interactions but also micro-level factors that determine successful interactions and innovation that are largely neglected in both NIS and intermediary studies; e.g. productive combination of competing rationalities, social learning, and the importance of reflexive individuals. Focusing on a modulated NIS concept for public sector intermediaries and SMEs in a Korean context, the study opens the ‘black box’ of knowledge interaction and learning that resolves the barriers, shapes the successful innovation environment and hence strengthens the innovation system. The findings have implications for policy, including the need to establish new policy measures aimed not simply at achieving a set goal but rather at facilitating the interaction process with a long-term view. The study recommends that public intermediaries need to focus on monitoring activities that integrate and support the knowledge interaction process by facilitating ‘associativeness’ among actors. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the local contexts and SMEs in the innovation process need to be taken into account in designing the programmes, moving away from one-size-fits-all type services.

This study explores the factors that affect the corporate sustainability behaviour of UK manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). To date, SMEs have been reported as being generally reluctant to engage in corporate sustainability activities. However, due to their significant negative environmental impacts, volume, and the contributions they make to economic growth and stability, no meaningful progress can be made towards corporate sustainability without SMEs’ involvement. As extant literature has focused more on the corporate sustainability activities of large or multinational companies with limited focus on SMEs, this study contributes to addressing this gap by adopting an SME perspective to exploring the factors affecting their corporate sustainability behaviour. The study was conducted as a qualitative study and data was collected through semi-structured interviews with a total of forty SME owner-managers from manufacturing companies in the South-East region of the UK and a focus group conducted with an additional twelve SME owner-managers from the same sector and region. Based on the study’s findings and an elaboration of the Responsible Environmental Behaviour (REB) framework, a framework for exploring the factors affecting SMEs’ corporate sustainability behaviour was developed. This framework suggests that SME Capacity Building in the form of information on corporate sustainability issues as they relate to SMEs, action strategies they can employ for corporate sustainability and transparency of the corporate sustainability business case, as well as Organisational Attitude, Stakeholder Influence and Resource Constraints are the main factors affecting UK manufacturing SMEs’ corporate sustainability behaviour.

Background: The number of small and medium-sized enterprises has been increasing and has gradually become the main part of economic development over years. However, it is challenging for them to compete in the fast-changing business environment, especially with the changing demands of their stakeholders. In order to control and improve business processes, Management Control System is important for monitoring each process while Performance Measurement System, as an essential part, is a good way of managing goals and targets and help companies improve. Since the business process is closely related to stakeholders, it is necessary to study how small and medium-sized enterprises manage their stakeholders’ expectations to improve their use of performance measurements and control business processes. Findings: We have selected two small and medium-sized enterprises in Kronoberg County in Sweden for our case study. We have found that our research model based on literature is well explained more in detail in practice. Based on the literature, we identify that key stakeholders for small and medium-sized enterprises are basically primary stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, employees, owners/shareholders and community. Performance Measurement System can be used and developed by managing these stakeholders’ expectations. After collecting empirical data, we have discovered that competitors or other companies have an impact on the use of Performance Measurement System as well. Small and medium-sized enterprises also have several important stakeholders to consider and they try to develop and improve Performance Measurement System by managing their stakeholders’ expectations from different perspectives. Results: It is important for small and medium-sized enterprises to find out what their main stakeholders are first before they can manage their expectations. After identifying key stakeholders, different aspects of these stakeholders need to be considered. For instance, employees’ capability of working need to be measured and they have a big impact on Performance Measurement System use and development, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises. Suppliers and customers situations need to be considered since they may come from different regions or countries where there are political issues. Therefore, risks of doing business require enterprises to be flexible and react quickly. Managing these aspects regarding stakeholders is crucial for developing and improving Performance Measurement System in small and mediumsized enterprises.

Esta tese investiga a relação entre recursos do país e desempenho internacional de Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs) brasileiras. Com a abertura dos mercados globais, PMEs de países emergentes enfrentam novos entrantes no mercado doméstico, se tornam multinacionais com expansão internacional tardia e características distintivas, e passam a lidar com recursos que devem ser adequados para estratégias voltadas ao mercado interno e externo, sendo a exportação o nível menos complexo e mais adotado de internacionalização dessas empresas. Compreender a internacionalização a partir das características da firma e da localização em um país de origem emergente mostra-se um desafio gerencial e teórico. A Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR) é apropriada para esse tópico de pesquisa, pois permite abordar os recursos da firma e do país na geração de vantagem competitiva sob a lógica da internacionalização. Recursos do país são externos à firma e disponíveis a qualquer empresa localizada em um país (FAHY, 2002) e ainda não foram investigados quanto ao seu uso e relação com o desempenho na internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Para suprir esta lacuna teórica, esta pesquisa se dividiu em duas fases: a etapa qualitativa e exploratória identificou recursos para internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Adotaram-se técnicas de revisão sistemática de literatura, seguida de entrevistas com especialistas, instituições e PMEs no contexto brasileiro. Identificaram-se 11 recursos do país por meio de análise de conteúdo com apoio do software Nvivo. O grau de utilização e a relação dos recursos do país com o desempenho internacional das empresas foram verificados empiricamente na etapa quantitativa e descritiva da pesquisa, em uma Survey com 222 PMEs brasileiras. O desempenho internacional foi medido de modo subjetivo, por um construto de satisfação com atividades internacionais nos últimos três anos, e de modo objetivo, baseado na intensidade exportadora da empresa. A análise dos dados foi feita com técnicas estatísticas paramétricas e apoio do software SPSS. Os principais resultados apontam que os recursos do país mais utilizados são os de acesso à informação, infraestrutura logística e cadeias produtivas bem desenvolvidas, os quais explicam 9,4% do desempenho internacional subjetivo das PMEs brasileiras. Por outro lado, não há relação entre recursos do país e intensidade exportadora das empresas. Houve diferenças no uso de recursos do país quanto às características da empresa exportadora, como idade, escopo geográfico, intensidade tecnológica e tipo de gestão, o que não ocorreu quanto à experiência internacional. Embora os recursos do país sejam utilizados pelas PMEs brasileiras, destaca-se que não são determinantes para sua vantagem competitiva no mercado externo. As PMEs brasileiras estão otimistas em relação ao crescimento nas exportações. Os recursos do país associados à satisfação com atividades internacionais devem embasar políticas e projetos setoriais para internacionalização dessas empresas. Os resultados desta pesquisa cobriram lacunas teóricas sobre o tema de internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes sob a Visão Baseada em Recursos e abriram novos caminhos de investigação. Pesquisas futuras podem comparar estes resultados com o contexto de empresas de diferentes portes e países emergentes. Possivelmente, os recursos do país menos estratégicos para PMEs brasileiras sejam estratégicos em outros contextos, o que deve ser verificado empiricamente. Por fim, sugere-se verificar quais recursos da firma estão associados ao uso de recursos do país e demais fatores determinantes no desempenho internacional de PMEs de países emergentes. / This thesis investigates the relationship between country resources and the international performance of Brazilian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With the opening of global markets, emerging market SMEs face new entrants in the domestic market, become multinationals with late international expansion and distinctive characteristics, and begin to deal with resources that should be adequate for strategies aimed at the domestic and foreign market. Export is the less complex and more used mode of entry of SMEs in foreign markets. Understanding the internationalization through the characteristics of the firm and its location in an emerging country of origin is a managerial and theoretical challenge. The Resource Based View (VBR) is appropriate for this research topic because it allows an approach to the country and the firm resources to create competitive advantage in internationalization. Country resources are external to the firm and available to any company located in a country (FAHY, 2002). There are no researches about the use and relation of country resources to internationalization performance of SMEs in emerging countries. To fill this theoretical gap, this research was divided into two phases: the qualitative and exploratory stage identified resources for internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries. Techniques of systematic literature review were adopted, followed by interviews with specialists, institutions and SMEs in the Brazilian context. Eleven country resources were identified through content analysis supported by Nvivo software. The use and the relation of country resources to the international performance of the SMEs were verified empirically in the quantitative and descriptive stage of the research, in a Survey with 222 Brazilian SMEs International performance was measured subjectively by a construct of satisfaction with international activities in the last three years, and in an objective way, based on the export intensity of the company. Data analysis was performed using parametric statistical techniques with SPSS software support. The main results indicate that the most used country resources are information access, logistics infrastructure and well-developed production chains, which are responsible for 9.4% of the subjective international performance of Brazilian SMEs. On the other hand, there is no relation between resources of the country and export intensity SMEs. There were differences in the use of country resources regarding the characteristics of the exporting SMEs, such as age, geographic scope, technological intensity and type of management. There were no differences regarding international experience of firms. Although country resources are used by Brazilian SMEs, it is highlighted that they do not generate competitive advantage in the foreign market. Brazilian SMEs are optimistic about the growth in exports. Country resources associated to the satisfaction with international activities should support policies and sectoral projects for the internationalization of these firms. The results of this research covered theoretical gaps on the theme of internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries under the Resource Based View and opened new avenues of research. Future research can compare these results with other firms with different sizes and from other emerging countries. Possibly, the less strategic country resources for Brazilian SMEs are strategic in other contexts, which should be verified empirically. Finally, it is suggested to verify which firm resources are associated to the use of country resources, as well as other determining factors to the international performance of SMEs in emerging countries.

Esta tese investiga a relação entre recursos do país e desempenho internacional de Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs) brasileiras. Com a abertura dos mercados globais, PMEs de países emergentes enfrentam novos entrantes no mercado doméstico, se tornam multinacionais com expansão internacional tardia e características distintivas, e passam a lidar com recursos que devem ser adequados para estratégias voltadas ao mercado interno e externo, sendo a exportação o nível menos complexo e mais adotado de internacionalização dessas empresas. Compreender a internacionalização a partir das características da firma e da localização em um país de origem emergente mostra-se um desafio gerencial e teórico. A Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR) é apropriada para esse tópico de pesquisa, pois permite abordar os recursos da firma e do país na geração de vantagem competitiva sob a lógica da internacionalização. Recursos do país são externos à firma e disponíveis a qualquer empresa localizada em um país (FAHY, 2002) e ainda não foram investigados quanto ao seu uso e relação com o desempenho na internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Para suprir esta lacuna teórica, esta pesquisa se dividiu em duas fases: a etapa qualitativa e exploratória identificou recursos para internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Adotaram-se técnicas de revisão sistemática de literatura, seguida de entrevistas com especialistas, instituições e PMEs no contexto brasileiro. Identificaram-se 11 recursos do país por meio de análise de conteúdo com apoio do software Nvivo. O grau de utilização e a relação dos recursos do país com o desempenho internacional das empresas foram verificados empiricamente na etapa quantitativa e descritiva da pesquisa, em uma Survey com 222 PMEs brasileiras. O desempenho internacional foi medido de modo subjetivo, por um construto de satisfação com atividades internacionais nos últimos três anos, e de modo objetivo, baseado na intensidade exportadora da empresa. A análise dos dados foi feita com técnicas estatísticas paramétricas e apoio do software SPSS. Os principais resultados apontam que os recursos do país mais utilizados são os de acesso à informação, infraestrutura logística e cadeias produtivas bem desenvolvidas, os quais explicam 9,4% do desempenho internacional subjetivo das PMEs brasileiras. Por outro lado, não há relação entre recursos do país e intensidade exportadora das empresas. Houve diferenças no uso de recursos do país quanto às características da empresa exportadora, como idade, escopo geográfico, intensidade tecnológica e tipo de gestão, o que não ocorreu quanto à experiência internacional. Embora os recursos do país sejam utilizados pelas PMEs brasileiras, destaca-se que não são determinantes para sua vantagem competitiva no mercado externo. As PMEs brasileiras estão otimistas em relação ao crescimento nas exportações. Os recursos do país associados à satisfação com atividades internacionais devem embasar políticas e projetos setoriais para internacionalização dessas empresas. Os resultados desta pesquisa cobriram lacunas teóricas sobre o tema de internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes sob a Visão Baseada em Recursos e abriram novos caminhos de investigação. Pesquisas futuras podem comparar estes resultados com o contexto de empresas de diferentes portes e países emergentes. Possivelmente, os recursos do país menos estratégicos para PMEs brasileiras sejam estratégicos em outros contextos, o que deve ser verificado empiricamente. Por fim, sugere-se verificar quais recursos da firma estão associados ao uso de recursos do país e demais fatores determinantes no desempenho internacional de PMEs de países emergentes. / This thesis investigates the relationship between country resources and the international performance of Brazilian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With the opening of global markets, emerging market SMEs face new entrants in the domestic market, become multinationals with late international expansion and distinctive characteristics, and begin to deal with resources that should be adequate for strategies aimed at the domestic and foreign market. Export is the less complex and more used mode of entry of SMEs in foreign markets. Understanding the internationalization through the characteristics of the firm and its location in an emerging country of origin is a managerial and theoretical challenge. The Resource Based View (VBR) is appropriate for this research topic because it allows an approach to the country and the firm resources to create competitive advantage in internationalization. Country resources are external to the firm and available to any company located in a country (FAHY, 2002). There are no researches about the use and relation of country resources to internationalization performance of SMEs in emerging countries. To fill this theoretical gap, this research was divided into two phases: the qualitative and exploratory stage identified resources for internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries. Techniques of systematic literature review were adopted, followed by interviews with specialists, institutions and SMEs in the Brazilian context. Eleven country resources were identified through content analysis supported by Nvivo software. The use and the relation of country resources to the international performance of the SMEs were verified empirically in the quantitative and descriptive stage of the research, in a Survey with 222 Brazilian SMEs International performance was measured subjectively by a construct of satisfaction with international activities in the last three years, and in an objective way, based on the export intensity of the company. Data analysis was performed using parametric statistical techniques with SPSS software support. The main results indicate that the most used country resources are information access, logistics infrastructure and well-developed production chains, which are responsible for 9.4% of the subjective international performance of Brazilian SMEs. On the other hand, there is no relation between resources of the country and export intensity SMEs. There were differences in the use of country resources regarding the characteristics of the exporting SMEs, such as age, geographic scope, technological intensity and type of management. There were no differences regarding international experience of firms. Although country resources are used by Brazilian SMEs, it is highlighted that they do not generate competitive advantage in the foreign market. Brazilian SMEs are optimistic about the growth in exports. Country resources associated to the satisfaction with international activities should support policies and sectoral projects for the internationalization of these firms. The results of this research covered theoretical gaps on the theme of internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries under the Resource Based View and opened new avenues of research. Future research can compare these results with other firms with different sizes and from other emerging countries. Possibly, the less strategic country resources for Brazilian SMEs are strategic in other contexts, which should be verified empirically. Finally, it is suggested to verify which firm resources are associated to the use of country resources, as well as other determining factors to the international performance of SMEs in emerging countries.