Earliness of SME internationalizationand performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the mediating effects of Chief Executive officer (CEO) attributes on the earliness of internationalization and performance in context of Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach The proposed framework is tested through analysis of a sample of 102 internationalized SMEs of the engineering industry in the Bangalore city region of India. Findings Results highlight that CEOs age and educational background moderates between early internationalization and performance in the Indian SME context. Practical implications Overall results facilitate in leveraging the decision-maker’s capabilities to successfully formulate and strategize their international marketing efforts to achieve higher performance. Originality/value The study enriches the importance of CEO attributes in influencing the early internationalization and degree of internationalization in the context of an emerging economy where studies are limited.