Use of supplier-customer relationships by SMEs to enter foreign markets

Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) that have gained experience in a supplier-customer relationship with multinational companies in the domestic market may be able to leverage that relationship to recruit new customers abroad. Is it possible to internationalize such supplier-customer relationships is the research question addressed in this paper. We tested five hypotheses, derived from the internationalization and interorganizational literature, using non-parametric tests and regression analysis with data provided by customers and suppliers in the computer industry. We discover that while customers initiate the first supplier-customer relationship, additional relationships, formed with the objective of internationalizing the firm are often initiated by SME itself, a new finding. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.