Exploring Risk Perception and Degree of Internationalization of Brazilian Small-and-Medium Enterprises

• Autor(a) principal: Bonfim,Leandro Rodrigo Canto
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Silva,Gabrielle Ribeiro Rodrigues, Prado,Paulo Henrique Müller, Abib,Gustavo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: BAR - Brazilian Administration Review
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1807-76922018000100300
• topic: risk perception; degree of internationalization; cognitive style; tolerance for ambiguity; SMEs

Abstract This research investigates managerial risk perception regarding internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Brazilian context. We examine how managers' perception of risk influences firms' degrees of internationalization. Likewise, we assessed how risk perception is influenced by managers' cognitive traits, such as tolerance for ambiguity and cognitive style. We provided empirical evidence for the relationships we proposed through a partial least squares structural equation model with data gathered from a survey of 149 SMEs from the State of Paraná, Brazil. Our results suggest that managers' tolerance for ambiguity is only significant for explaining risk perception for the managers with a preference for a deliberative style. Still, the research suggests that the Brazilian SMEs in our sample presented a higher degree of internationalization even when their managers perceived higher levels of risk.