SMEs represent the basis of the business fabric and are elements of cohesion of the territory in which they carry out their activity. However, business performance, measured through the survival of companies over time, is one of the main problems faced by a fragmented production structure. This work aims to study the effect of internationalization as a business strategy in the survival of SMEs in the agri‑food sector in southern Spain. For this, a sample of 1,297 SMEs from the agri‑food sector located in the southern area of Spain (Andalusia and Extremadura) was analyzed, which were examined using the Kaplan-Meier method and a longitudinal analysis (2000‑2015 period). The results reveal that SMEs in the agri‑food sector are more likely to survive if they undertake the process of internationalization, with factors such as innovation and the family capital structure being positively associated with the degree of survival of the company. These results show the need to develop policies that contribute to such internationalization, through the implementation of measures to facilitate companies launching competitive strategies and commercial and productive diversification in non-traditional markets. In this sense, the work covers an incipient field of study such as the role of internationalization processes in business survival.

Luque‑Vílchez M, Rodríguez‑Gutiérrez P (2021). Internacionalización y supervivencia de la pyme agroalimentaria del sur de España. ITEA‑Información Técnica Económica Agraria 117(5): 580-597. https://doi.org/10.12706/itea.2021.008