Internationalization of small business
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31617/3.2025(141)04Keywords:
foreign economic activity, small and medium-sized enterprises, business internationalization, export, import, export policy, digital trade, support policy, international programmes, foreign economic activity, SMEs.Abstract
The article analyzes the peculiarities of foreign economic activity of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine in the context of digital transformation of state support, crisis challenges, and gradual integration into the EU market. Hypotheses are formulated that the participation of small and medium-sized businesses in foreign economic activity is uneven across enterprise size categories; support policy in 2016–2023 evolved under the influence of external challenges, and digital tools for institutional support and international cooperation contributed to the growth of their involvement. Statistical analysis methods were used to study the main trends in the foreign economic activity of enterprises. Comparative statistical analysis was used to compare trends in the foreign economic activity of enterprises with different numbers of employees. The dynamics of the main indicators of exports, imports of manufactured products, and the share of sales from e-commerce in total sales by type of enterprise (micro, small, medium, and large) in 2016–2023 were studied. The stages of state policy to support the foreign economic activity of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine were systematized. The stages of state policy to support the foreign economic activity of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine have been systematized. The evolution of the policy to support the foreign economic activity of enterprises of various sizes has been substantiated in stages: strategic planning; institutional formation; digital adaptation; crisis response; digital integration and scaling. The key barriers to the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in foreign economic activity and e‑commerce have been identified, and the main institutional initiatives that contribute to expanding their internationalization potential have been described. The main result is the justification of targeted instruments for differentiated, digitally oriented support for the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises, taking into account their size and state of development. The practical value of the research lies in laying the foundations for the modernization of the internationalization policy of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine, taking into account current challenges and opportunities.
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