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Fashion product is the name that covers clothing, footwear and accessories. It is part of wide chain of value which starts with the design of the product up to the planning and execution of production, operations and distribution and ends with the sale to the customer. Due to the ephemeral nature of these products, it seems to be a defendable strategy to extend the products life cycle to innovate and explore new markets in order to attract new consumers.
Considering that SMEs are pillars of economic growth and change for a country, and the exiguity of research in Brazilian literature, particularly concerning fashion products, then, the objective of this research is to analyze the decision-making process of internationalization of four SMEs. As well as to evaluate the applicability of internationalization theories at these companies, in order to add knowledge to this field of study.
The pattern proposed by Hammond, Keeney and Raiffa (1999) for effective decision-making has been chosen to support this paper. Factors that can influence this process, which may keep the decisions distant from a rational, are pointed. Researchers have questioned the applicability of theories that try to explain many processes of SMEs internationalization. The international entrepreneurship, theory developed by Antoncic and Hisrich (2000) sees strategies as a result of the mental pattern, knowled
Case studies of four companies related to accessories, shoes and apparel, were done in the period June 2013–September 2014, through Research Protocol, drawn from the literature review, with semi-structured interviews conducted by managers responsible for the international business of the focused companies, or with questionnaire when the interview proved to be unfeasible. Moreover, and particularly for the clothing and footwear segments, the procedure have been the triangulation of data sources.
Companies began the process of internationalization through export, franchise, or opening unit. The choice for exporting as an entry mode was also identified in other studies directed to SMEs. In all the cases, the presence of products in other countries was motivated by third parties interests in the brands, which facilitated the process of internationalization (JOHANSON; VAHLNE, 2009). One company follows a process that partially obeys the pattern proposed by Hammond, Keeney and Raiffa (1999)
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