Export behaviour of Asian and indigenous‐owned SMEs in the UK clothing industry: a research note

Although a large body of literature exists on the export activities of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), once a criterion for determining the size of firm has been established, e.g. number of employees, there has been a tendency for studies to categorize these firms as homogeneous. This has meant that subsequent quantitative analysis has frequently treated SMEs in aggregate terms without exploring their background characteristics further and therefore these studies are potentially constrained by the limited categorization of the constructs in the research. Addresses the gap in the literature by discussing comparative empirical results from a study which explores differences between SMEs based on the ethnic origin of the owners of the firms. Provides comparative empirical evidence of the export marketing practices of Asian and indigenous (white) SMEs in the UK clothing industry. Claims the results provide a foundation on which future academic work can build in addition to offering managers and policy makers a comparative insight into particular aspects of the behaviour of these firms.