Potential and Limitations Facing Small and Medium-Sized Companies Internationalization Process - Research Paper Example

The paper "Potential and Limitations Facing Small and Medium-Sized Companies Internationalization Process" is a perfect example of a business research paper. The researcher adopted a cross-sectional descriptive study design whereby data was collected over a specific period to determine the views of respondents at that particular time. As such, data were obtained from both primary as well as secondary sources.

Study Area

This study was conducted in the United Kingdom.

Study participants

This study involved 120 respondents from Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) operating in the United Kingdom with prospects of internationalizing their operations.

Research strategy

Research strategy involves the approach utilized while conducting the study by employing either a qualitative approach through case studies or a quantitative approach through surveys. Generally, most of the studies focusing on international business rely on quantitative strategies in eliciting data that answers the identified research questions. Approximately 60.9% of the publications in the International Business journals employ a quantitative approach using surveys. Similarly, the majority of the studies focusing on SMEs internationalization also rely on quantitative approaches (Armario et al., 2008).

Most researchers prefer quantitative approaches due to the possibility of generalizing the findings obtained during a study. In addition, restrictions relating to the amount of time and resources available encourage most researchers to pursue quantitative studies. Finally, accessing interviewees to obtain qualitative data is often a challenge for most international business researchers hence the option for quantitative research strategies. Nevertheless, their qualitative research methodologies continue to gain more attention and recognition in Europe following the increasing number of research studies conducted (Baxter and Jack, 2008).

The qualitative methodology remains invaluable in situations where the researcher seeks to obtain rich explanations, insights, and descriptions of specific contexts of interest to the study phenomenon (Berger, 2015a).