SME exporting
6articles
November 2026
6 articles on this page
Strategy & leadership13 min readWhich market next: CAGE ranks them, Uppsala sizes the step
For an owner who already sells in one foreign country and must pick the second. The short answer: rank the candidates by distance with CAGE, then size the first step by what you know and what you can afford to lose, as the Uppsala model says.
- Strategy & leadership11 min read
Deglobalisation or decoupling: what four studies claim and measure
For an SME owner or export manager reading headlines that say globalisation is dead and wondering whether to change suppliers or markets. The short answer: the four studies ask four different questions, and none concludes that the world has already decoupled.
Strategy & leadership9 min readCorporate diplomacy: a capability small exporters need too
For the owner of a small exporter with no government-affairs team who faces buyer-country rules, slow ports and buyer pressure. The sources I read treat corporate diplomacy as a cycle of sensing, responding and adapting; a small firm can do the first two at its own scale.
- Strategy & leadership10 min read
Keep the product or change it abroad: the two-pressure grid
For a small-firm owner who already has foreign customers and must decide whether to keep the product as it is or change it country by country. Short answer: do not place the whole firm in one cell; score each element of the offer by the cost of two versions and what local buyers demand.
- Strategy & leadership10 min read
Export, license or invest: choosing a foreign market entry mode
For an SME owner or sales director who has just had a first enquiry from abroad. The short answer: test the three OLI advantages first, then pick the mode by how much control you need and how much capital you can afford to lose.
Strategy & leadership9 min readBorn global or Uppsala steps: which path fits a Vietnamese SME?
For an SME owner or founder who already has customers abroad and is torn between moving fast and moving step by step. The short answer: it depends on whether your asset copies at almost no cost and whether your team knows the target market.