The upgrading of workforce skills is key to the competitiveness of SMEs. In today’s business environment there is a premium on innovation that enables firms to develop new products and services, new production processes and new business models. This requires both in-house innovation and the ability to absorb knowledge from other firms and organisations, both of which call for a skilled labour force. Skills are also a critical but understated resource for entrepreneurship seen in the sense of business creation. Similarly to workforce skills, entrepreneurship skills will boost the competitiveness of local businesses thanks to the improved strategic and management competences of the entrepreneur.

1. Competences needed for growth
through internationalization
Leona Achtenhagen
Professor of Entrepreneurship and Business Development
Jönköping International Business School
28 November 2012

2. SMEs own ranking of internationalization
barriers
1. Lack of capital to finance export activities
2. Challenge to identify business opportunities on
international markets
3. Limited information on how to identify and analyze
markets
4. Difficulty to reach potential customers on
international markets
5. Difficulty to find reliable international
representatives
Source: OECD-APEC (2007), cited in OECD (2009: 8)

3. Internationalization competence
• Combination of knowledge, skills and
personal variables related to successful
internationalization
 Several, partly overlapping, dimensions

4. Different dimensions of
internationalization competence:
POMI model
Personal international attitude/experience
Organizational competences and resources
Market competence Institutional competence

5. Personal international attitude/experience
• International experience
• Cultural understanding
• Language skills
Contribute to reducing the ’fear’ of
internationalization and increase likelihood
to identify opportunities in international
markets

6. Organizational competences and
resources
• International innovativeness
• Internationalization competence
• International marketing competence
 Challenge to make knowledge work in
practice

7. Market competence
• International marketing
• International business skills
 Customers
 Markets
 Competition
 Tendency to view environmental risk as
less dramatic

8. Institutional competence
• Experience and knowledge regarding
– Relevant actors
– Institutional structures
– Rules, norms and values characterizing the
international market
 Institutional competence needs are highly
company-specific!

9. The intention and potential to
internationalize differ…
INTENTION TO INTERNATIONALIZE
e.g. e.g. high-
tech
high imitative e-
commerce SMEs, ’bor
companies n globals’
e.g. many
e.g. locally
low manufac-
oriented
turing
micro-firms
SMEs
low high
BUSINESS MODEL POTENTIAL

10. … requiring different competences and
policy measures
INTENTION TO INTERNATIONALIZE
e.g. e.g. high-
imitative e- tech
commerce
high companies SMEs, ’bor
n globals’
O MI
e.g. many
e.g. locally manufac-
low oriented turing
micro- SMEs
firms
P
low high
BUSINESS MODEL POTENTIAL

11. Conclusions
• Many internationalization barriers are relatd
to lacking internationalization competence
 Policy measures are needed to improve this
competence!
 Make available information more accessible
• Different types of companies need different
types of support

12. Report:
’Internationalization Competence of SMEs’
Leona Achtenhagen
http://entreprenorskapsforum.se/wp-
content/uploads/2011/12/internationelization-comp_webb.pdf
acle@jibs.hj.se