Legal Strategies for the Internationalisation of SMEs. A Managerial Analysis of Knowledge for Transnational Contracts

This paper examines the knowledge and use of law in the European firms internationalisation process. In a hypercompetitive and globalized market, for a firm understood as a cognitive and vital system, the analysis of the legal context (General legal system – European and national-, Ambit rules, Transnational law, Default rules) becomes strategic as a source of knowledge and innovation. In particular, in the framework of the knowledge economy, for SMEs it is essential to acquire, evaluate, spread and manage legal data in order to develop efficient experiences; this concerns both explicit knowledge (Law in the books) and silent knowledge (Law in action). Company strategies in a hypercompetitive context need efficient legal strategies The knowledge, management, control, of the consequences of legal-economic choices requires pluridisciplinary competences, dedicated resources, such as an internal or external legal audit, non-routinary procedures and innovative approaches. Managerial Analysis of Law, directed at evaluating costs and benefits of legal-economic company choices, can contribute to widen the analysis of the context in which the process of company internationalisation takes place.