International market development: new patterns in SMEs international market behaviour?

In the changing market environment it is necessary even for small and medium‐sized companies to build long‐term relationships in order to survive and to be competitive in the marketplace. The process of building relationships is a demanding and complex task, especially if it is done in an international environment. As a result of greater international competition changes on the marketplace are occurring more rapidly and companies need to be able to react to the actual competitive situation. This require is different kinds of knowledge about international markets which might be another drawback for small and medium‐sized companies trying to build relationships in the local network.