The performance of small and medium-sized technology-based enterprises: Do product diversity and international diversity matter?

This paper examines the individual and interaction effects of product diversity and international diversity on the performance of small- and medium-sized technology-based enterprises (SMTEs). We measure international diversity by geographic spread and geographic concentration, and also divide product diversity into related and unrelated dimensions. Several important findings are revealed. First, profitability is insignificantly associated with both related diversification and unrelated diversification. Second, both geographic spread and concentration have a curvilinear relationship with performance. Third, some interaction effects between product diversity and international diversity are highly significant in comparison with their individual effects.