Globalization of Small Enterprises 1 Running head: Globalization of Small Enterprises Globalization of Small Enterprises Lisa Henderson Fontbonne University Globalization of Small Enterprises 2 The Globalization of the small enterprise will most likely be the most important development in international business as we begin the new millennium. “Globalization is revolutionizing the way we work, the way we live, and perhaps most important, the way we relate to each other across national boundaries.” (Zulima, 2005) Clearly, the 20th Century has witnessed the transformation of global commerce by transnational conglomerates and/or multinational corporations. This transformation is most evident when oneconsiders the impact of the worldwide disaggregation of production and the advent of transfer prices, which tend to distort the real prices of manufactured components transferred across national boundaries but within a multinational corporation. It is certainly the case that large global corporations have created a significant portion of this century’s wealth; however, it is the smaller enterprise that has been the engine that has generated most of the world’s economic growth over the past 20 years. The challenge faced by many small enterprises will be how to globalize their operations in order to be able to better source raw materials and components and to take advantage of proximity to global markets in order to compete head to head with much larger companies. In order to do this, smaller companies will be forced to make a choice between two options: 1. to hire an international business specialist and 2. To retain an international business consulting company. (www.going-global.com) These choices are not mutually exclusive because it is ...