Small Firms in a Small Country: Managerial Factors, Internationalization and Performance of Slovenian SMEs

International activities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) constitutean important research area. To understand this phenomenon,researchers employ different theoretical perspectives. Among them, theresource-based theory has been given much attention. In this studythree managerial factors: managerial attitude toward internationalization,internationalization knowledge and international experience, areseen as examples of the firm’s intangible assets. The objectives of thisstudy are twofold. First, it aims to examine the significance of thementioned managerial resources for smes’ internationalization. Second,it verifies the relationship between the level of the firm’s internationalizationand performance. The study is based on a sample ofhighly-internationalized Slovenian companies. According to the findings,managerial attitudes towards internationalization and internationalizationknowledge are significantly related to the level of SMEinternationalization. The statistical analysis also provides support forthe relationship between the level of the firm’s internationalization andperformance.