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Abstract
Competitive and innovative Hungarian SMEs in the medical precision instruments sector can be characterised by continuous development, special knowledge and innovation activity. These are the main factors behind their high level of competitiveness and higher than average level of internationalisation. Certain companies could become leading firms in worldwide comparison in niche segments, and there are a few companies which internationalised early in the company life cycle and can be called ‘emerging born globals’. Thus post-communist economies can also be homes to such companies. This article analyses the motivation of internationalisation, the choice of foreign location and the main barriers to internationalisation for SMEs in this sector in Hungary, pointing out the similarities and differences between problems faced by smaller companies in former transition economies and in more developed economies.
Acknowledgements
This article was prepared in the framework of the KKVENT project ‘The chances of Hungarian SMEs in the era of internationalising knowledge-based economies’, led by Dr Annamária Inzelt, IKU Innovation Research Centre and financed by the Finance Research Foundation and NKTH. The author is grateful for the comments and suggestions of Dr Annamária Inzelt on an earlier version of this article.
Notes
1. Here we define it as 2651 (Production of measuring precision instruments), 2660 (Production of electronic medical equipment) and 3250 (Production of medical instruments) in NACE’08 or 3310 (Production of medical instruments) and 3320 (Production of measuring precision instruments) in NACE’03. However, there are many goods, parts and components which can be used not only in this but also in other industries. This makes the use of statistical data somewhat problematic.
2. CBI Market Survey (Citation2009) and http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/medical-devices/competitiveness/facts-figures/index_en.htm.
3. http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/medical-devices/competitiveness/facts-figures/index_en.htm.
4. Based on Central Statistical Office data, available at www.ksh.hu.
5. The KKVENT project covered four branches with innovative SMEs and 260 SMEs in these four sectors, but no other ‘born globals’ were identified.