How active are Lithuanian manufacturing SMEs in international markets? Some preliminary findings

Much has been written about the internationalization activities of multinational firms, and much attention in the literature has been given to the internationalization decisions of firms entering the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. However, we still know relatively little about the internationalization activities of SMEs, especially manufacturing SMEs in the CEE region. With the removal of trade barriers, SMEs in the enlarged European Union (EU) face not only new opportunities but also a host of challenges. This empirical study explores the foreign market entry decisions of manufacturing SMEs in Lithuania, through an examination of the degree, direction, and the positive and negative aspects of internationalization as seen by the companies themselves.