OWNER-MANAGERS’ VISION AND ITS ROLE IN THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF SMES: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY OF MOROCCAN AND CANADIAN SMES IN THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR

Abstract

More often than not, theories and approaches developed in the context of large businesses fail to explain the internationalization of SMEs mostly because many researchers tend to treat them as small replicas of large companies. One alternative and promising research path is to focus on owner-managers attributes as they play a key role in such internationalization. The present contribution adopts the same perspective and takes as its main objective to study the role owner-manager’s vision plays in the internationalization of SMEs. The results obtained from a case study of ten Moroccan and Canadian agri-food SMEs, suggest that clear vision is associated with proactive internationalization, rather planned strategies, and increased international commitment.