Derived from the extensive empirical evidence on this topic, the most
important factors in successful exporting are listed on the left hand side of
Table VI. The way in which the Internet can be used to operationalize these
critical performance factors is shown on the right-hand side of the figure. Thus,
finding the right overseas agent or distributor has been identified as a critical
success factor in SME internationalization. Lists of agents and distributors for
different products and different countries can be found on the WWW making
the agency search and evaluation process considerably easier. Identifying
foreign markets offering the most attractive growth potential is a “critical
success factor” and various models of market selection and country screening
have been developed in the literature (Cannon and Willis, 1986; Root, 1987;
Young et al., 1989). A frequent complaint of SMEs, however, is that they lack the
necessary financial and human resources to engage in formal country market
screening. Again, the Internet offers a solution owing to the wealth of country/
market specific information available on the WWW, much of which is free of
charge. Other ways in which the Internet can be used to support critical success
factors include market intelligence to support export planning and the