Internationalization of SMEs is encouraged by the advantages of new environmental conditions and appealing business opportunities, but remains a challenging process. Top management teams and more specifically board of directors appear to be a critical determinant in addressing internationalization issues. In recent years, investigation of boards in small firms’ context has been an interest of scholars, however few investigated characteristics of human capital. This study aims to investigate whether board usage of knowledge and skills is a mediator linking characteristics of human capital of board and internationalization performance of SMEs in Lithuania. The results revealed that usage of knowledge and skills mediates the relationships between international business skills and internationalization performance. Obtained results contribute to international entrepreneurship and upper-echelons theories by highlighting the role of the board in SMEs and linking it to higher internationalization performance through their usage of knowledge and skills. This study fills the research gap and extends the extant studies in internationalization of SMEs. First, the study responds to the need to investigate how board’s capital affect internationalization. Secondly, the study responds to the need to go beyond input-output models.

中文翻译：

---

知识和技能的董事会使用会影响中小企业的国际化绩效吗？立陶宛案例

新的环境条件和吸引人的商业机会的优势鼓励了中小企业的国际化，但这仍然是一个充满挑战的过程。高层管理团队，更具体地说是董事会，似乎是解决国际化问题的关键决定因素。近年来，在小企业背景下对董事会的研究一直是学者们的兴趣所在，但很少有人研究人力资本的特征。本研究旨在调查董事会对知识和技能的使用是否是连接董事会人力资本特征和立陶宛中小企业国际化绩效的中介因素。结果表明，知识和技能的使用在国际商务技能和国际化绩效之间起着中介作用。通过突出董事会在中小企业中的作用并通过他们对知识和技能的使用将其与更高的国际化绩效联系起来，获得的结果有助于国际企业家精神和高层理论。本研究填补了研究空白，扩展了现有的中小企业国际化研究。首先，该研究回应了调查董事会资本如何影响国际化的需要。其次，该研究响应了超越投入产出模型的需要。该研究回应了调查董事会资本如何影响国际化的需要。其次，该研究响应了超越投入产出模型的需要。该研究回应了调查董事会资本如何影响国际化的需要。其次，该研究响应了超越投入产出模型的需要。