ROLE OF EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE PACE OF INTERNATIONALIZATION - EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE PUMP AND MOTOR INDUSTRIES OF COIMBATORE

Abstract

SME internationalization has been the interest of many research scholars for the past two decades. Indian internationalization and the research on Indian manufacturing firms are quite a few in number. Indian firms are very sensitive towards risk and uncertainties faced by them in the global markets. The slow and incremental process of learning and acting in the international market would help the firms in sensing the risk factors. The SME sector in Coimbatore operates in the international markets with careful entry by the entrepreneur’s proactiveness. The firms mainly depend on the acquisition of experiential knowledge by the owner/ managers. Theories and models have explained the knowledge factors which are market knowledge, Business knowledge network knowledge, cultural knowledge, entrepreneurial knowledge and the operating knowledge, vital for exporting firms which are analysed in this paper. The results from selected exporting firms in Coimbatore clearly shows that the influence of Experiential knowledge positively affect the firm’s performance and international growth.