TITLE:
A Study of the Effect of Innovation and Technology on Saudi Arabian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Internationalization
AUTHORS:
Fahd Alqahtani, Abdullah Alshehri, John Mulyata, Desireé Cranfield
KEYWORDS:
Innovation, Technology, Internationalization, SMEs, Saudi Arabia
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.14 No.9,
September
20,
2024
ABSTRACT: The research paper studies the effect of innovation and technology on the internationalization of Saudi Arabian Small and Medium Enterprises. This study employed various conventional theorists of internationalization and attempted a comparative analysis of ongoing innovation, technology and its implementation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The data was collected from senior managers, CEOs, and owners of Saudi Arabian small and medium enterprises that are applying innovation and technology in small and medium-sized businesses. The sample size of this survey study, 234 respondents, was collected and analyzed using Model Regression (Model Fit). The findings show that new innovations drive international expansion, are strongly associated with new product internationalization, and that revenue growth from innovation affects international expansion. In addition, the results show the role of technology in the internationalization of SMEs, which is strongly associated with technology upgradation and quality, to ensure cost efficiency through technology enhancement and tool synergy between technology upgradation and quality.