Management of risks in export networks : the role of collaboration

The globalized economy is increasingly affecting small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). As markets and growth are moving outside Europe, SMEs need to find new global customers and build their market entries through export networks to remote locations which often have different cultures, regulations and practices. This paper discusses the risks and challenges related to this transformation, based on observations from Finnish SMEs. Previous research on risk management in the context of export networks and collaborative networked organizations is utilized in the work. Using information collected from Finnish SMEs, the paper analyses the risk factors and risk management methods in export networks. The role of collaboration is discussed, both as a source of risk and as a measure to decrease the risks. Based on the analysis, companies appear to value the risk management methods including collaborative actions with partners, but the use of these methods in practice is low.