Methodological recommendations for entering foreign markets for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises

The focus of the article is the problem of development of recommendations for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises on the use of models, approaches and strategies for entering foreign markets in order to improve the performance and competitiveness of their core business. Based on a theoretical review and a set of interviews with a focus group of 36 representatives of Russian agricultural enterprises companies responsible for business internationalization, the study suggests a number critical parameters and aspects which can be reflected in agricultural enterprises’ strategies and approaches to entering international markets. The conducted research generally confirms the applicability of three common models of entering foreign markets for agricultural enterprises – the organic path, the joint growth path and the born global trajectory, however, the interviewed experts note a number of important aspects that are more inherent to agricultural enterprises and should be taken into account in internationalization strategies and models. The study also found that for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, the choice between direct and indirect export strategies presents a particular dilemma, since the comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of these two strategies is very contextual due to the high specificity of both the agro-industrial industry itself and the configuration of opportunities and constraints in the domestic and international markets. The author emphasizes the significance of helping small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises to understand determinants and factors of internationalization.