Survey and financial data from 179 Thai SMEs in 2021–2023 were modeled with XGBoost to distinguish internationally integrated from domestic-oriented firms. Internationalized SMEs showed configurations of financial agility, profitability, disciplined leverage, resource efficiency, international experience, team readiness, market knowledge and institutional connectivity.
Key findings
- Internationalized firms had stronger financial, entrepreneurial and network bundles; domestic firms were more liquidity-heavy but less dynamic and connected. Group sizes, accuracy, AUC, cross-validation, holdout performance and feature scores are absent from the abstract, preventing assessment of overfitting.
Why this matters globally
SME policy often centers finance alone. This study frames international readiness as a bundle spanning finance, teams, market knowledge, digital channels and institutions.
Thai researcher contribution
Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani university researchers connected decision science with regional Thai SME development.
Limitations to consider
A 179-firm sample is modest for multivariable ML and may not represent industries. International selection may precede measured capabilities, creating selection and reverse causation; surveys add bias, and feature importance is not causal importance. External validation is required before prediction or eligibility use.
Verify the original sources
Journal of risk and financial managementRead the original article↗DOI: 10.3390/jrfm19070518