Banking services for SMEs' internationalization: evaluating customer satisfaction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the quality of banking services provided in support of small- and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) internationalization from the customers' perspective. Design/methodology/approach Customer satisfaction of 50 Italian SMEs with the banking services provided for international activities has been evaluated by adopting the Kano model's continuous and discrete analyses. Findings Results show which banking services provided for business internationalization are necessary to satisfy customers' expectations, which services customers like having and dislike not having and which services are unexpected by customers creating a high increase in satisfaction when provided. Research limitations/implications This work shows the value of the Kano model in evaluating the non-linear relationship between customer satisfaction and quality of banking services for the international activities of companies. The main limitation of this work is the limited geographical context of the investigation. Practical implications This research suggests banks to transform their role in the relationship with SMEs from mere financiers to active partners committed to their growth abroad by offering a wide range of services not just financial, but also counselling and care professional, thus achieving mutual benefits. Originality/value Previous works on banking services and business internationalization are focussed on the transaction costs, information asymmetries and the impact of online banking. This work advances available knowledge by analysing the customer's point of view, evaluating the satisfaction of SMEs which, although more dependent on banks for their expansion abroad than large listed companies, are mostly ignored by literature.