Internationalisation of South Korean SMEs
This research proposal would aim to identify the manner in which the family interventions of the owner managers can impact the internationalisation of South Korean SMEs. Past researches conducted by Calabrò, Brogi and Torchia (2016) and Bianchi (2014) show that family management of owner-managers can largely impact the internationalisation of SMEs in South Korea. Apart from the fact that families impact the growth and development of the entrepreneurs and owner managers in family owned firms, characteristics such as decision making, risk taking and innovative abilities are also impacted by the extent of interference of the families of such entrepreneurs. Hence by identifying the factors associated with family management and characteristics of owner managers, the process of internationalisation of South Korean SMEs is deeply impacted.
As identified by Fernandez-Ortiz and Lombardo (2009) it is observed that each SME has its own abilities and resources which can be used for enhancing the growth and development of the SMEs. Earlier research works have reiterated that Jorge et al. (2017) that there is no difference in terms of possession and management of SMEs. This has been justified with the linkage drawn between organisational culture and structure of SMEs in correlation with possession and ownership.
Personal characteristics of owner-managers such as entrepreneurial abilities, risk-taking attitudes, leadership qualities, management of resources and motivation of the owner managers directly impact the growth and expansion of the SMEs (Hutchinson, Quinn and Alexander 2006). On the other hand, Kontinen and Ojala (2010) say that since family-owned businesses are deeply interlinked with the family traits, it is also seen that family interventions and management of the business through family decisions can majorly impact the decision making of the SMEs. Thus, it is observed that by assessing the impact of characteristics of the owner
The primary aim of the research being proposed is as given below:
To evaluate the role of characteristics of owner-managers and assess the impact of family involvement of owner managers on internationalisation of SMEs in South Korea.
In order to attain the research aim proposed above, the following research objectives have been defined for the research to be conducted:
To assess the individual characteristics of Owner manages in South Korean SMEs
To evaluate the extent of family involvement in the functioning of South Korean SMEs
To assess the impact of owner-manager traits and family involvement of owner managers on internationalisation of South Korean SMEs
To recommend measures which can be used to increase the positive impacts of owner-manager traits and family involvement in the internationalisation of South Korean SMEs
What is the role of the characteristics of the owner-managers and Why and How involvement of the families of the owner-managers in SMEs can lead to internationalisation?
It is expected that by obtaining the answer to the research question proposed above, the study would be able to shed light on the manner in which the personal traits and family involvement of owner-managers can limit or contribute to the internationalisation of South Korean SMEs.
Other sub-questions which can be used to address the research question presented above are as given below:
How do the personal and professional characteristics of owner managers impact the internationalisation of SMEs in South Korea?
To what extent does the involvement of families of owner managers limit or enhance the internationalisation of SMEs in South Korea?
How can the characteristics of owner managers be polished to increase the scope of internationalisation of South Korean SMEs?
How can the involvement of families be planned to increase the expansion of South Korean SMEs?
Reid (1981) observes that there remains a large impact on the role of the owner-manager as far as decision making in SMEs is concerned. This has been further reiterated by Mitter et al. (2014), who also supports the arguments made by Reid, (1981), by linking the decision making for the SME with the characteristics of the owner-manager. This is also subjected to the observation that in case of family-owned businesses, it is largely the owner-manager who is able to derive the coordination of opinions between the family members and the employs working towards the growth and development of the SME.
The Upper Echelon Theory has been assessed by Piva et al. (2013) who identified that characteristics of the leaders are formed through the past experiences, values & beliefs and the individual personal attributes of the leaders. This means that the internationalisation of SMEs is largely dependent upon the manner in which leadership of the owner-managers is exhibited within the family-owned SMEs. This was further propounded by Zhara (2003), who states that traits and characteristics of the owner-manager induce the effectiveness of risk taking and decision making, thereby proving that the internationalisation of the family owned SMEs is based on characteristics of owner-managers.
This view has been argued by Barney (1991) who states that the resource-based view when applied to the internationalisation of SMEs, shows that internationalisation is also impacted by various social, cultural and financial factors which may lie both internally and externally to the SME. Hankinson (2000) also argues that the personal traits of the owner-managers are directly formed by the social, cultural and economic orientation of the families.
Smaller facets such as communication effectiveness are largely impacted by family backgrounds and social influences (Presutti et al., 2008). Claver et al. (2007) and Puig and Fernandez Perez (2009) also state that operational ability of the SME is also based on the operational effectiveness of the owner-manager which is in turn derived from the familial influence. Kolvereid, (1996) has linked the support from the families of owner managers as a major factor impacting the success of the SMEs. Athanassiou and Nigh (2000) have also shown that imitability and rarity of the resources can be planned when the owner-manager is able to synchronise the needs of the business and the employees.
Therefore, it is observed that family impacts not only the decision making within the organisation but also impacts the personal attributes of the owner managers which directly affects the productivity of the organisation. Another factor which can be related with the family impacts is the collective business decision making and risk taking ability of the organisation as a whole. Individual decisions and collective decisions stand apart from each other as far as attributes of decision making and motivation are concerned.
Carpenter and Fredrickson (2001) state that educational level of owner-managers impacts the decision-making ability which is in turn is based on the family culture. Thus, Zahra (2003) also observes that personal traits developed from family environments impact the success of an entrepreneur. Pierce et al (2001) state that in family-owned SMEs the family members are the part of the Board making the decisions. This has been further supported by the Stewardship philosophy which supports the fact that family-owned businesses have a higher tendency to compete. De Massis et al, (2015) attributes the success of family-owned enterprises to the feeling of ‘Familiness’ which is created.
However, despite the extensive research which has been conducted, the proper effect of characteristics of owner-manager and impact of family on internationalisation of SMEs in South Korea, in particular, has not been conducted.
Through the past studies which have been conducted, a definitive view of the owner managers and the family interferences on the business development of SMEs have been identified. However, it is also seen these researches are mainly generic in nature and while such researches are able to explain the topic of this research, interlinkages between families, owner managers, cultural and social factors and family environments has not been derived. It is also seen that a single study focussing on the business environment and family culture in South Korea has not been conducted.
This research would be primarily deductive in nature as it does not propose to create a new theory hypothesis. Data assimilation would be conducted through primary data analysis wherein semi-structured and in-depth interviews would be conducted to obtain the research answers required.
Data Sampling would be through the snowball method and three groups of participants would be selected. The first group of participants would be the owner-managers, the second group would comprise of family members of owner managers and the third group would consist of top management employees within the SMEs.
All interviews conducted would consume 6 months and would be recorded both through audio and video recording methods. Each interview is expected to last for a period of 2 hours. Hence the primary research tool used would be interviews recorded to obtain primary answers.
However, in order to increase the effectiveness of the research, it is also expected that theoretical underpinning of the research would be created through the secondary study of books, journals, and papers.
In order to increase the effectiveness of the research, it is seen that all research processes and methods applied would cater to ethical compliances and research would be conducted with due permissions from the University and the SMEs. Furthermore, it is also seen that research process would be in tandem with the guidelines of research confidentiality and privacy to be followed.
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Uniresearchers is a leading team of researchers in the field of academic writing. With the track record of delivering 500+ high quality dissertations and 2500+ essays, assignments and coursework’s Uniresearchers has always tried to keep up with the expectations of our clients.
