EXTERNAL DETERMINANTS OF SMES’ INTERNATIONALIZATION AND PERFORMANCE IN A CHALLENGING INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Competitive performance analysis of enterprises is a useful tool for an assessment of the condition and development potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for effective operation in international environment. Dynamics of the global environment creates opportunities for international entrepreneurship, but also requirements for a rapid adaptation to a new situation, and survival in a post-pandemic world. The objective of this paper is to study the external determinants of internationalization and competitive performance in a challenging environment for international entrepreneurship by a broad overview of the literature and an empirical survey on a representative sample of 500 Bulgarian firms, of which 468 are SMEs. It attempts to contribute to existing theories and models explaining the external factors influencing internationalization and their co-dependence with the competitive performance of SMEs under unforseen circumstances. The findings demonstrate that unexpected events in the global environment might trigger unpredictable and rapid changes provoking a negative response of companies - shrinking costs, reduction of resources for internationalization, termination of operations that will affect future performance, and international activities of SMEs. The findings can serve as a support tool for practitioners, consultants, and researchers in the analysis and assessment of the impact of unforeseen circumstances and crises on the performance of SMEs targeted at occupying competitive positions in international markets.