PRESENCE IN FOREIGN MARKETS, ETHNIC MINORITY OWNERSHIP AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF HIGH-TECH SME'S

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face strong competition with larger incumbents in a fast-changing globalized economy that undermine their financial performance. For this reason, operating in foreign market could be a valuable solution to pursue growth opportunities and improve their financial performance. The purpose of the paper is to understand the relationship between SMEs internationalization and their financial performance, and whether this effect is moderated by the presence of ethnic minority ownership. Based on a sample of 10.326 high-tech manufacturing US SMEs, our study reveals a positive relation between the number of foreign markets where SMEs operate and their financial performance. In addition, we demonstrate that this effect is positively moderated by the presence of ethnic minorities in the SMEs' ownership. Therefore, our findings provide evidence of the strong relationship between strategic choice, in the form of presence in foreign markets, and economic results, as well as on the influence exerted by individual-level mechanisms.