Change is inevitable, growth is intentional: The behavioral roots of SMEs' export opportunity exploration in Sri Lanka

This study builds on an extended Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical lens to investigate the factors that drive owners-managers of domestic small- to medium-enterprises (SMEs) to consider exporting as a growth strategy. By taking Sri Lanka as a test case, it asks: “To what extent do behavioral factors influence domestic SME owner-managers to consider export opportunities?” Findings support the conception of export opportunity exploration by the owner-managers as a planned behavior in which a prior base of knowledge, in particular any prior experience of internationalization owner-managers have, is combined with cognitive drivers to trigger their search for export opportunities.