Cover Image

The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan

The purpose of the study is to explore the reasons that have led Malaysian firms to internationalize, and to determine the factors contributing to their competitive advantage. The study adopted a mixed research mode; the qualitative approach was adopted in the first phase of this study that concerns...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ng , Yin Kuan
Format: Thesis
Published: 2021
Subjects:
HC Economic History and Conditions
Online Access:http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/2/Ng_Yin_Kuan.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/1/Ng_Yin_Kuan.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my.um.stud.14799
record_format eprints
spelling my.um.stud.147992024-02-17T19:47:33Z The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan Ng , Yin Kuan HC Economic History and Conditions The purpose of the study is to explore the reasons that have led Malaysian firms to internationalize, and to determine the factors contributing to their competitive advantage. The study adopted a mixed research mode; the qualitative approach was adopted in the first phase of this study that concerns on the motivational factors that lead to internationalization (Research Question 1), and the quantitative approach was utilized in the second phase that concerns on the perceived factors contributing to Malaysian SME’s sustainable competitive advantage in Cambodia (Research Questions 2 and 3). The targeted respondents for the qualitative analysis were small and medium sized Malaysian firms operating in Cambodia which were selected by using purposive sampling. In-depth interview was utilized in the study to understand what, why and how firms go abroad. Cross-case analysis reveals these firms are driven by host country-based advantage; driven by home government; driven by home country limitations; driven by self-inflicted actions and driven by social influence. The present study finds out that the factors that motivate firms to internationalize are different from accounts found in the extant literature. For the quantitative analysis, a sample of 103 small and medium sized firms was selected by using a purposive and snowball sampling. Structural Equation Modelling technique to test the conceptual framework by adopting Partial Least Square approach. The present study examines whether social network mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable competitive advantage, and whether the mediation is moderated by a competitive business environment by adopting Hayes’ moderated mediation approach. The mediation analysis reveals that social network mediates the association between entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable competitive advantage of firms. This study reveals that entrepreneurial orientation is not able to influence firm performance and is expected to only function well in a given context as entrepreneurship capabilities is not the only source for sustainable competitive advantage of the SMEs. Without the functional social networks, entrepreneurs may fail to acquire/learn the necessary information to make them unique. The moderation effects indicate that the mediation path is partially supported. The findings imply that the founders are more concerned with leveraging on the resources they have to compete in the marketplace and achieve success in the highly dynamic and hostile business environment rather than building on their social connections. Given the significance of the findings, similar studies focusing on other regions should be carried out to strengthen the alternative explanations that this study offers to understand the internationalization of business, especially among small and medium enterprises. A profound understanding of such internationalization factors can assist home and host governments to support better the relocation of small and medium enterprises abroad. 2021-08 Thesis NonPeerReviewed application/pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/2/Ng_Yin_Kuan.pdf application/pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/1/Ng_Yin_Kuan.pdf Ng , Yin Kuan (2021) The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya. http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Student Repository
url_provider http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/
topic HC Economic History and Conditions
spellingShingle HC Economic History and Conditions
Ng , Yin Kuan
The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan
description The purpose of the study is to explore the reasons that have led Malaysian firms to internationalize, and to determine the factors contributing to their competitive advantage. The study adopted a mixed research mode; the qualitative approach was adopted in the first phase of this study that concerns on the motivational factors that lead to internationalization (Research Question 1), and the quantitative approach was utilized in the second phase that concerns on the perceived factors contributing to Malaysian SME’s sustainable competitive advantage in Cambodia (Research Questions 2 and 3). The targeted respondents for the qualitative analysis were small and medium sized Malaysian firms operating in Cambodia which were selected by using purposive sampling. In-depth interview was utilized in the study to understand what, why and how firms go abroad. Cross-case analysis reveals these firms are driven by host country-based advantage; driven by home government; driven by home country limitations; driven by self-inflicted actions and driven by social influence. The present study finds out that the factors that motivate firms to internationalize are different from accounts found in the extant literature. For the quantitative analysis, a sample of 103 small and medium sized firms was selected by using a purposive and snowball sampling. Structural Equation Modelling technique to test the conceptual framework by adopting Partial Least Square approach. The present study examines whether social network mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable competitive advantage, and whether the mediation is moderated by a competitive business environment by adopting Hayes’ moderated mediation approach. The mediation analysis reveals that social network mediates the association between entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable competitive advantage of firms. This study reveals that entrepreneurial orientation is not able to influence firm performance and is expected to only function well in a given context as entrepreneurship capabilities is not the only source for sustainable competitive advantage of the SMEs. Without the functional social networks, entrepreneurs may fail to acquire/learn the necessary information to make them unique. The moderation effects indicate that the mediation path is partially supported. The findings imply that the founders are more concerned with leveraging on the resources they have to compete in the marketplace and achieve success in the highly dynamic and hostile business environment rather than building on their social connections. Given the significance of the findings, similar studies focusing on other regions should be carried out to strengthen the alternative explanations that this study offers to understand the internationalization of business, especially among small and medium enterprises. A profound understanding of such internationalization factors can assist home and host governments to support better the relocation of small and medium enterprises abroad.
format Thesis
author Ng , Yin Kuan
author_facet Ng , Yin Kuan
author_sort Ng , Yin Kuan
title The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan
title_short The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan
title_full The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan
title_fullStr The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan
title_full_unstemmed The internationalization and competitiveness of SMEs: A study of Malaysian firms investing in Cambodia / Ng Yin Kuan
title_sort internationalization and competitiveness of smes: a study of malaysian firms investing in cambodia / ng yin kuan
publishDate 2021
url http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/2/Ng_Yin_Kuan.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/1/Ng_Yin_Kuan.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/14799/
_version_ 1792149232773234688
score 13.211869

Similar Items