Doctoral Dissertation: Dynamic Capabilities in the International Growth of Small and Medium-sized Firms 

In his doctoral dissertation, Arto Kuuluvainen, Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration, follows the international growth of four Finnish industrial small and medium-sized enterprises. The research mainly focuses on the changes faced by the four SMEs between 2002 and 2010. Development of the case enterprises' international business is analysed through a framework derived from the dynamic capabilities theory.

Kuuluvainen's research reveals that development of dynamic capabilities in internationally growing SMEs is promoted by factors such as the experience of the company's management, the company's financial resources, its research and development capabilities, learning capabilities, and changes in its ownership structure.

By comparing the international growth of the case SMEs and raising the analyses' level of abstraction, Kuuluvainen also identifies three examples of dynamic capabilities which have contributed to the international growth of all companies surveyed.

Kuuluvainen has given these dynamic capabilities the following names: knowledge absorbing capabilities, resource acquisition and integration capabilities, and dynamic internationalisation capabilities. Each of these dynamic capabilities reflects the management's ability to shape the capabilities needed for the company's everyday operations, so that they are able to respond to changes in the business environment.

Kuuluvainen's dissertation generates new information in the study of dynamic capabilities, by concretising a phenomenon whose study has often remained at conceptual level so far. The context Kuuluvainen chose for his research, namely the international growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, has been neglected in studies conducted in the field.

The research results also offer beneficial information for SME managers aiming to steer their companies towards international growth. This includes, for example, knowledge of practices considered useful by the case companies and processes which, according to the study, are especially worth investing in when operating in an international market.

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Arto Kuuluvainen's thesis Dynamic capabilities in the international growth of small and medium-sized firms belongs to the field of International Business.

Read the thesis: http://info.tse.fi/julkaisut/vk/Ae4_2011.pdf

Contact information: mob. +358 40 538 7515, e-mail arto.kuuluvainen(a)utu.fi

Kuuluvainen's picture: http://www..fi/vaittelijat/kuuluvainen_arto.jpg