International risk assessment and decision making in Dutch small and medium sized enterprises

In this article we will discuss the process of judgment and decision-making (JDM) the management of a company goes through when they are confronted with the opportunity to operate internationally. In particular we will focus on the way country risks are incorporated in the assessment that companies make concerning the feasibility of these international opportunities. Although the literature appears to offer a systematic approach based on research, the actual JDM follows a different route, one of intuition. This will be demonstrated by research in five sectors in the Netherlands. The gap between theory and its application offers a model for an improved way of doing things by clarifying why business is only partially using the outcome of research.