Differences in managerial behavior between small international and non-international firms Svante Andersson & Henrik Florén Published online: 20 May 2011 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract The main question raised in this article is whether there are any differences between the work activities of managers in small firms primarily operating on an international market and those managing firms doing business on a domestic market. If so, what are these differences, and what do they tell us about the internationalization of small firms? The comparative method used here is based on multiple approaches including interviews, diary studies, and direct observations. The conclusions indicate that managers in small international firms are more proactive in their networking behavior, delegate operative activities, and devote more time to planned strategic activities connected with their international expansion than managers in other small firms. Keywords International entrepreneurship . Small firms . Internationalization . Managerial behavior . Direct observation Introduction The aim of this paper is to add to our understanding of small firms mainly operating on an international market. Small firms are becoming increasingly international, doing business with actors outside their domestic market. Previous research has shown that some small firms get into the international marketplace at a much earlier age than described in earlier research (Johanson and Vahlne 1977, 1990) and that they are pursuing strategies that involve international activities at an earlier age (McDougall et al. 1994; McDougall and Oviatt 2000; Knight and Cavusgil 1996). Further, we know from previous research that these firms tend to grow faster than firms which are operating on a primarily domestic market (Lu and Beamish 2001, 2006). J Int Entrep (2011) 9:233–258 DOI 10.1007/s10843-011-0074-1 S. Andersson (*) : H. Florén Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning (CIEL), Halmstad University, Box 823, 301 18 Halmstad, Sweden e-mail: svante.andersson@hh.se H. Florén e-mail: henrik.floren@hh.se