Search results

Recognising the significance of international trade in economic growth, this research explores the drivers of exports in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries from 2008 to 2021. The study employs the export demand model and the augmented exports supply model and utilises pooled time-series data. This study questions whether export supply decisions are based on traditional trade model factors, emerging trading realities or macroeconomic variables. The model based on fixed effects evaluates the connection between exports and their possible drivers. Traditional export supply models suggest determinants like production capacity, variable cost and relative pricing influencing South Asian export supply performance substantially. Changes in trade, for example, have a substantial impact on export supply, demonstrating that the trade liberalisation procedure promotes growth in exports, compression in imports and technological advancement. The worsening state of the energy industry and growing levels of corruption have proved to be significant deterrents to export supply decisions. The results verify foreign direct investment's positive and medium influence on the expansion of exports. Other variables, however, such as GDP and its growth, Official Development Assistance (ODA), development expenditure, indirect taxation, labour supply and the exchange rate of currencies, have a positive impact on the flow of exports. Furthermore, the data corroborate the notion that increased savings have a significant beneficial influence on the flow of exports. The study proposes that concerned governments examine their export policies and adopt new policies adapted in accordance with changing circumstances with the goal of increasing and enhancing the performance of exports.

The impact of export promotion programs (EPPs) on the intensive margin of exports remains somewhat uncertain. This study tackles a crucial question: does export promotion enhance firm-level intensive margin of exports?

We draw upon comprehensive empirical research conducted up to 2023. We collected 951 estimates, constructed 22 variables, captured diverse contexts and employed a meta-analytical approach to scrutinize the considerable variation in findings.

The overall meta-effect, after filtering out publication bias, is positive and statistically significant. Firms receiving EPP support exhibit an export intensity that is 1–9% higher than firms not participating in such programs. Assessing the mechanisms through which EPPs bolster this, we observe that support in the form of various services plays a more substantial role compared to assistance in the form of financial resources.

Evaluating EPPs and their activities in terms of social welfare falls beyond the scope of this paper, which specifically focuses on the benefits of EPPs to export intensity. Subsequent research should undertake a comprehensive evaluation, considering both economic impacts and costs for accurate assessments of welfare. We also suggest that future meta-analyses explore other dimensions of firm-level performance linked to EPPs.

Publication bias distorts the impacts of EPPs, leading to an overstatement of their actual effects. Adjusting for publication bias, the practical significance of EPPs for a country’s trade intensity appears to be limited. Additionally, the provision of diverse activities and services primarily contributes to the amplification of export margins as compared to subsidies and grants. While larger firms initially benefit more from EPPs, these effects are found to be transitory.

This is the first meta-analysis scrutinizing the impact of EPPs, specifically concentrating on the firm-level intensive margin of exports.

This paper aims to understand how government support initiatives can enhance the international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To address the gap of literature, this paper employed three theoretical lenses to examine both of direct and indirect relationships between two main constructs.

This empirical study is based on data collected from Armenian exporter SMEs. The data collection utilized a random sampling approach, resulting in 138 fully completed questionnaires, yielding a response rate of 28.4%, comparable to previous studies in international business research. This sample includes firms from three main sectors: agriculture, manufacturing and services, reflecting the structure of Armenia's international trade. Relationships were examined using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results of this study indicate that government support initiatives lack a direct impact on international performance, while positing instead an indirect connection between the two constructs through strategic capability and institutional pressures.

The results of this study contribute to the international business literature in several ways. First, it surpasses the conventional examination of government support on firm performance by delving into both the direct and indirect relationships between these constructs. Second, it reveals that not all theoretical viewpoints hold equal strategic importance in explaining the internationalization of SMEs. From the practical point of view, findings help policymakers to maximize a country's export capacity by implementing tailored initiatives, considering the unique requirements of SMEs.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of the firms' external environment on their export intensity. More specifically, it assesses whether domestic market characteristics such as domestic demand and general export environment related to tradability across borders affect firms' export intensity.

The authors use a sample of 29,266 firms from nine European countries, for the period of 2010–2016, and test several estimation methods (random effects models, Tobit models, and Heckman's selection models).

Results show that external factors such as domestic demand and ease of trade across borders are important determinants of firms' export intensity. Moreover, results reveal that firm's internal characteristics such as age, size and productivity also play an import role.

Studies about the influence of the firms' external environment on firms' export intensity are scarce because most of them are confined to a single country context. In this way, the present study contributes to the body of knowledge on the influence that external factors can have on firms' export performance by analyzing firms from nine European countries, which has important policy implications.

This paper analyses and assesses the effect of firm-specific determinants (FSDs) on supply-chain performance (SCP) and export performance (EP). It examines SCP’s influence on EP and its mediating effect on the relationship between FSD and EP.

This paper develops a theoretical framework based on the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic-capability theory to understand SCP’s role in the FSD-EP link while empirically validating using the Indian automobile industry segments (IAIS) data. The sample frame comprises all listed firms in IAIS between the financial year 2010-11 and 2021–22, with continuous data availability throughout the considered timeline. The paper employs factor analysis for dimension reduction, a panel-data-fixed-effect model to analyze the relationships, bootstrap to test the mediation effect and focus-group discussion for validating the results obtained through statistical analyses.

FSD directly influences SCP’s efficiency aspect and EP. Distribution efficiency and inventory efficiency characteristics of SCP directly impact EP and completely mediate the relationship between FSD and EP.

This study provides significant insights into how firms can increase EP by focusing on firm-specific and SCP-related factors. To improve EP, firms should concentrate on enhancing distribution and inventory efficiencies. Firms must focus on critical firm-level factors like age, size and raw-material import capability to increase their ability to solve SC-specific barriers and improve SCP, resulting in enhanced exports.

This study investigates the impacts of FSD on SCP and EP and examines the mediating effect of SCP on the relationship between FSD and EP. Such a mediating role of SCP has rarely been probed in the literature.

The academic literature on women’s entrepreneurship in the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continues to increase, possibly due to the enormous potential of women’s entrepreneurship to promote social empowerment and economic growth in a country. This study aims to systematically review existing research on women’s entrepreneurship in the internationalization of SMEs and provide a robust understanding of academic developments in this field. This study also aims to identify and explore key thematic areas within the research field related to women’s entrepreneurship in SME internationalization.

This study selected 62 articles retrieved from the four databases (Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO and Google Scholar). Content analysis was conducted to identify key research issues and gaps, which were then mapped on cluster themes. VOSviewer was used to represent the research cluster themes visually.

This study identifies and discusses six research streams related to the concept of women’s entrepreneurship in SME internationalization: export behavior and gender in SMEs; entrepreneurship and country economic development; gender, innovation and performance in SME internationalization; women entrepreneurship in international business and management research; internationalization process of SMEs; and business experience and export experience. Some topics that emerged as potential for future research include personal and organizational dynamics, internationalization behavior, decision-making, adoption of strategies or technologies and orientation toward international markets.

This study offers valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to foster women’s entrepreneurship within the internationalization landscape of SMEs. The findings provide a roadmap for identifying underexplored areas in women’s entrepreneurship within SME internationalization, guiding future research initiatives.

The main goal of this paper is to study empirically the importance of experience of top managers and firms for export performance, having controlled for a number of firm characteristics.

The study is based on the probit model applied to the 2020 edition of the BEEPS firm level survey. The authors analyze firms in 15 EU member and 15 non-member countries.

The results indicate that firm experience can increase the probability of direct exporting, but is not significant for indirect exporting. The results also support the importance of interaction between experience of managers and experience of firms. The authors conclude that only the combination of managerial and firm experience can have a positive and significant effect for direct exporting. This relationship is more pronounced in the case of EU members.

The main limitations of our approach are related to data constraints. These include availability of only cross-sectional data and the limited number of individual characteristics of managers.

The importance of experience for exporting suggests that firms can break into foreign markets by hiring more experienced managers.

Post-communist countries can improve their export performance by hiring more experienced managers that would stimulate direct exports. Moreover, they can also export indirectly through intermediaries.

In contrast to previous studies, the authors used a model proposed by Jørgensen and Schroder (2008) in which the authors endogenized the costs of exporting by linking them to firm and managerial experience. Then, the authors validated empirically the importance of experience for firm export performance, having controlled for the set of individual firm characteristics.

Export product concentration is common in developing nations, where raw materials and semi-manufactured commodities face rigid demand in international markets. This leads to the monopolisation of exports, particularly when targeting the developed world. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations have prioritised diversification to boost exports and per capita income, globalising their economies. The normalised Hirschman index is employed to analyse the determinants influencing the diversification of exports in ASEAN and SAARC countries from 2018 to 2021. Except for the fuel intensity variable, the results show that structural transformation, competitive advantages, industrial sector expansion, institutional capability, local investment development, financial stability and overall economic performance positively promote export diversification intensity. The key result is that institutional strength helps nations rapidly diversify their exports, highlighting the importance of structural transformation in boosting exports and globalising economies.

Although earlier research suggests a positive relationship exists between engaging in entrepreneurial marketing activities and firm performance, there may be contingent issues that impact the association. This investigation unpacks the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing behaviour and firm performance under the moderating role of coopetition, in an immediate post-COVID-19 period.

A resource-based theoretical lens, alongside an outside-in perspective, underpins this study. Following 20 field interviews, survey responses via an online survey were obtained from 306 small, passive exporting wine producers with a domestic market focus in the United States. The data passed all major robustness checks.

The statistical findings indicated that entrepreneurial marketing activities positively and significantly influenced firm performance, while coopetition provided a non-significant moderation effect. Field interviews suggested that entrepreneurs’ attemps to scale up from passive to more active export activities in an immediate post-pandemic period helped explain the findings. Owner-managers rejoined trustworthy and complementary pre-pandemic coopetition partners in the immediate aftermath of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for domestic market activities. In contrast, they had to minimise risks from dark-side/opportunistic behaviour when joining coopetition networks with partners while attempting to scale up export market activities.

Unique insights emerge to unpack the entrepreneurial marketing–performance relationship via the moderation effect of coopetition, namely, with the temporal setting of an immediate post-COVID-19 period. Firstly, new support arises regarding the likely performance-enhancing impact of owner-managers’ engagement in entrepreneurial marketing practices. Secondly, novel findings emerge in respect of the contrasting role of coopetition in both domestic and export market activities. Thirdly, new evidence arises in relation to a resource-based theoretical lens alongside an outside-in perspective, whereby, strategic flexibility in pivoting facets of a firm’s business model needs effective management following a crisis.