How Do Experts Think? An Investigation of the Barriers to Internationalisation of SMEs in Iran

Nowadays, “internationalisation” is a topic of concern for many types of research on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs pursue internationalization policy as a leading process to keep and improve their position in the competitive business markets. However, SMEs face many challenges that hinder the successful implementation of the internationalization process. This chapter aims to recognise the important barriers to internationalisation for Iranian SMEs. We conduct two studies using a combined exploratory and confirmatory approach. We apply the Delphi method for exploring and forecasting the key barriers in the first study. In the second study, we validate the key indicator employing a Structural Equation Modelling technique for the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the survey data. In the Delphi method, a group of 24 managers and academic professors in Iran, identified the main barriers. A sample of 210 survey observations was collected from the owner and top managers, senior managers, and employees. The results suggest 8 key factors and 31 indicators of barriers to internationalisation associated with Iranian SMEs: informational, financial, marketing, functional, procedural, governmental, environmental and, tariff and non-tariff. This research contributes to the knowledge of critical obstacles concern for current and future business internationalisation, and the outcomes provide practical implications. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.