The international entrepreneurial intention of SMEs towards China: A network approach

Abstract International entrepreneurial intention (IEI) reveals the corporate decision-maker’s international strategic vision, which represent the invisible starting point for cross border business. This study aims to detect the factors that determine the IEI of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) towards China and how they do so. An integrated model based on the entrepreneurial intention theory and social network approach is proposed. The structural relationships in the model are tested using a multivariate statistical analysis technique (Structural Equation Modelling) with a sample of 161 Spanish SMEs. The results emphasize the importance of the entrepreneur’s network ties (governmental, internal and social), which positively affect entrepreneurial perception and IEI. The main contributions are the proposal of an integral model that includes external and internal factors in the internationalization decision making process in the case of Spanish SMEs and their international intentions towards China. In addition, from Network theory, the study incorporates the context—country of origin and destination—and the role of networks in the study of IEI.