Difficulties faced by SMEs in the process of internationalization and the ways to overcome such difficulties

: the case of PMS Solutions, S.A.

Abstract

In an increasingly globalized world, more and more firms are going international. Although, in the past, this trend was mainly verified among multinational companies, the internationalization of SMEs has been constantly increasing. However, when going abroad, firms, especially SMEs, usually face some difficulties during this process and to successfully establish their presence they need to be able to overcome such difficulties. Following these lines, this thesis aims to explore not only the practical difficulties faced by SMEs when they internationalize but also how they managed to overcome these difficulties. For this purpose, this thesis focused on studying the internationalization of a Portuguese SME, PMS Solutions S.A., which likewise other SMEs has encountered many difficulties in its internationalization process. Therefore, in order to fully address this research, interviews with the Founder and actual Managing Director of the company and with one member of the management group in Brazil were conducted. From the findings obtained, it was possible to verify that SMEs face several difficulties when they expand abroad. These difficulties can be either internal as well as external. Moreover, the research allowed to conclude that most of the difficulties faced by PMS Solutions S.A. were the same as other SMEs researched in previous studies, which may imply that such difficulties are common to the majority of SMEs. However, it was also possible to conclude that despite the difficulties faced, SMEs are able to successfully establish their presence abroad by overcoming these difficulties mainly through networking, external support and technology.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Laure Leglise (Supervisor)