Women Led Companies in Cooperation For Internationalization

Abstract

Internationalization can represent an important source of competitive advantage for SMEs, ifAlthough theprogress made in the field of collaborative internationalization continues to present seriouslimitations,accentuated when the SME segment subject to the investigation is that of CompaniesLed by Women, ELM, inCooperation for their Internationalization. Likewise, the keys to the intersection between ELM, cooperation andinternationalization, as well as the variables of success and satisfaction in said process, are unknown. Theobjective of this research, pioneer in this field, is twofold: to determine the main variables of satisfaction of ELMcollaborators for their internationalization and the value of tutoring the process for the results and satisfaction ofthe ELM.The research is developed through statistical analysis of contingencies and contrast of hypotheses, toassess statistically significant differences in the satisfaction of Spanish exporting ELMs through cooperationprojects, determining the success variables in this regard. Information from 35 Spanish ELMs, exporters and withexperience in cooperation, is used, obtained through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with their leaders,carried out between 2021 and 2023. Their conclusions are contrasted and expanded with interviews with 5experts in cooperation and internationalization, selected in academic and professional fields. The results confirm the hypotheses that the satisfaction of women-led enterprises engaged in cooperativeinternationalization extends beyond tangible benefits, such as sales and export market share, and thatmentorship is a critical success factor. Descriptive analysis, with mentorship as a controlled variable, reaffirmedthe benefits of group mentorship for these enterprises. Intangible benefits were found to be diverse andsignificant for all women-led enterprises, contributing to their overall high satisfaction levels. Tangible benefits,including sales and export market share through cooperation, were also noteworthy, particularly for women-ledenterprises in mentored groups. This research depends our understanding of the internationalization process ofWLC via cooperation as well as the variables that influence the results obtained by WLC, opening newopportunities for further research into predictive models.