An international and socially responsible SME based on tailored innovative products: empakando from El Salvador

Abstract

All rights reserved.In view of the many studies carried out on multinational firms and, to a lesser degree, the internationalization of SMEs based on developed countries, it is surprising to find that so little attention is being paid to the internationalization process of SMEs based on developing countries. There is scarce evidence and knowledge available on the circumstances underlying these processes or the decisions made to successfully address internationalization. The case of the company Empakando, founded in the developing country of El Salvador in 2000 and successfully internationalized toward countries in Central America, allows the authors to make a contribution to this field. Based on the company's experience, the authors addressed a range of important aspects to understand this phenomena: (1) the internationalization process and the entry modes chosen and (2) two key elements in gaining access to the resources and connections needed to facilitate internationalization, that is, the commitment to corporate social responsibility (internal factor) and the support of export promotion programmes (external factor).