The Involvement of Enterprises in Clusters as a Basis for the Internationalization of Business Activities on the Example of Slovak Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the performance of the EU's economies. Due to the size of the domestic market, SMEs that try to maximize profits or gain competitive advantages have almost the need to engage in the internationalization process. The networking approach to internationalization is based on the fact that penetration into foreign markets depends not only on the competitive advantages of the company but also on the creation and involvement of the company in strategic alliances and networks. Cooperation among members of the network is mutually beneficial to all members and synergistic effects are achieved there. One of the network approaches is the cluster cooperation. The article discusses the issues of the internationalization of entrepreneurial activities through the prism of Slovak SMEs that are considerating the potential involvement into the clusters. The main aim of the paper is to identib) the basic reasons for enterprise entry into the network from point of view of the risks in the context of the internationalization of business activities.