Internationalization of Small and Medium Sized Mechanical Engineering Enterprises: The Impact of Culture and Success Factors for Manufacturing in India

The mechanical engineering sector is one of the key industries of Germany, characterized by small and medium sized companies (SMEs) with resource constraints, customized small-scale production, and a dependency on global markets. Research on SMEs manufacturing in culturally and geographically distant emerging economies is still scarce. The research objective of this dissertation was to determine the relevant aspects and successful behavior of German special purpose machinery SMEs for the establishment and operation of a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary in India. The empirical analysis is a qualitative study with in-depth expert and firm interviews. The interconnected research findings consisting of the cultural and economic restrictions of the emerging market India, internationalization of SMEs, the importance of the entrepreneur and key personnel, the specificities of manufacturing of customized machinery in India, the relevant influencing cultural differences between Germany and India, and the resulting success factors are linked in an overall model that highlights the interplay and interdependencies of these aspects. The dissertation, thus, closes a research gap by broaden past research on internationalization of SMEs and cultural dimension research by identifying the relevant influences for the specific context of German mechanical engineering SMEs with a manufacturing subsidiary in India.