Área: Entrepreneurial and Small Business Learning

Different from big companies, small enterprises internationalization is hardly based on systematic planning, on a broad search of information about foreign markets, or on a step by step experiential process. In the globalized economy scenario, small enterprises have been caught in the international arena whether they had planned it or not. Small enterprises internationalization is often triggered by external ad-hoc signals such as the activities of customers, suppliers or partners (LI, LI e DALGIC, 2004). Within this context, the small enterprises are faced with the challenge to adapt, learn and innovate. The pointed out question is: how do they learn? Despite the evolution of the organizational learning theory, few studies have been focused on small enterprises organizational learning (ANDERSON and BOOCOCK, 2002). The resources that are available in big companies and which can help organizational learning (OL) to take place are hardly found in small enterprises. Small enterprises are rarely engaged on strategic planning or establish cross functional teams, inter departmental meetings and formal training, which are helpful tolls for OL development. Small enterprises are often owner managed, concerned with short-run solutions and engaged on tacit and informal learning. As these firms face particular conditions to cop