Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of government assistance programmes on internationalization of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs} from an emerging market. The study provides a guideline for SME managers as to how they can benefit from both categories of export assistance programmes in improving their positive attitudes towards the export market environment, building their knowledge and enhancing commitment to exporting for better success in their international operations. Objective data were collected fo r empirical testing of the framework using a quantitative research method where SEM technique was used to estimate the parameters in the model to reveal their direct and indirect effects. Results suggest that the usage of market developmentrelated government assistance significantly influence internationalization directly as well as indirectly via other determinants, whereas finance- and guarantee-related assistance has only indirect effect. The conceptualization, research methods and results are discussed in this article to conclude with implications of the study, and highlight its limitations for future research needs.
