International Alliances with Competitors and Non-Competitors: The Disparate Impact on Sme International Performance

The international entrepreneurship literature maintains that small- and medium-size firms can suffer from resource constraints as they move abroad. To alleviate this problem, research suggests participating in strategic alliances. We develop and test the theoretical perspective that not all alliances are the same; cooperative agreements with non-competitors and competitors have disparate direct and moderating impacts on international performance. Based on an analysis of 162 British and U.S. private SMEs, our results indicate that alliances with non-competitors are positively associated with international performance, but that alliances with competitors are negatively related. In addition, our findings suggest that in alliances with non-competitors, entrepreneurial orientation helps SMEs increase international performance and that in alliances with competitors, entrepreneurial orientation simply reduces the negative impact.