Small and medium enterprises have strengthened their importance during the last decades in most industrialized countries, including the United States, Germany, Japan and Canada. The province of Quebec makes no exception as firms of less than 200 employees generate a substantial portion of its economic activity. Of those firms, many are present on export markets and thus are facing fierce competition. This requires from SMEs the ability and willingness to engage in various innovative efforts in order to sustain their competitive edge and long-term growth. The purpose of the paper is to study the relationship between SMEs' innovative efforts and their performance on international markets. Results clearly identify four clusters of firms on the basis of volume of exports and destination. One group, identified as global firms, clearly stands out above all. In fact, global firms consistently0501ntain a higher level of both tangible and intangible innovative efforts. This study confirms a clear relationship between efforts and exporting capabilities.