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Article History

Received: 4 January 2024

Accepted: 20 May 2025

First Online: 21 July 2025

Competing interests

: The author declares no competing interests.

: This study initially received ethical approval from the Ethics Review Committee of Foshan University, Mainland China (Approval Code: FU-HREC028/2020, Approval Date: May 18, 2020). To ensure compliance with the updated 2024 Declaration of Helsinki and to reflect the location of data collection, the study was subsequently reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan (REC Number: 202412ES040, Approval Date: April 5, 2025). The research involved minimal risk, and the Taiwan-based committee granted an expedited review and a waiver of written informed consent. All procedures were carried out in accordance with institutional and international ethical standards.

: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their involvement in the study, conducted between June and September 2020. Participants, who were top managers of Taiwanese SMEs, were purposively sampled based on their expertise in internationalization strategies. They were provided with a detailed consent form explaining the purpose of the research, their rights as participants, and the use of their data for academic research and publication purposes. The consent process assured anonymity, confidentiality, and voluntary participation, with the option to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. The study did not involve vulnerable groups, such as minors, persons with disabilities, or other populations requiring special ethical considerations. Participants were competent professionals capable of providing informed consent autonomously. No financial or material incentives were offered, and the study posed minimal risk to participants. The anonymized responses were used solely for academic purposes, ensuring full adherence to ethical guidelines.