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This paper aimed to examine the relationship between green logistics management (GLM) practices and export intensity of Thai SMEs in food and drinks manufacturing. The research involved carrying out in-depth interviews with ten experts to shed light on factors of GLM practices. The authors used a questionnaire to survey the data amongst 89 SME exporters through purposive sampling with valid 52 responses. The managerial issues related to export intensity, GLM practices, with regards to whether firms followed ISO 14001 and whether they had an employee(s) responsible for environmental management. The findings suggest that greater GLM practices being applied lead to higher export intensity in SME. The results indicate that most SMEs apply GLM practices in all dimensions to gain the benefits from the export market. It also emerged that those following ISO 14001 and/or having an employee(s) were associated with having higher export intensity than those who did not engage in these practices.

Home-peer firms (i.e. firms from the same industry and country) noticeably influence the internationalization behavior of small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing from vicarious learning literature, the authors theorize how home-peer firms' success in export markets affects SMEs' export intensity into those markets.

The authors test the hypotheses on a sample of 32,108 Canadian SME exporters. A Tobit model was used to examine the effect of home-peer performance and its interactions with firm age, export experience, and geographic and institutional distance on export entry intensity.

The authors find that SMEs are more likely to enter export markets with higher intensity if home-peer firms perform well in those markets. This home-peer influence is stronger when the SME lacks export experience, when the home-peer information is more recent, and when environmental uncertainty is high.

The study is among the first to show empirically that the performance of home-peers positively influences the export intensity of SMEs in international markets, suggesting that SMEs use this measure to inform their internationalization strategies.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of governance – a proxy for network effects on small and medium enterprises (SME) growth through access to new markets. Specifically, investigate how export intensity (EI) and performance are affected. This study also tests related theories, given the growth in the post-liberalization setting of a developing economy. Specifically, this study tests Uppsala and born global (BG) perspectives for internationalization and resource-based view for performance.

The authors collect secondary data for each SME over a 20 year period from a growth-oriented developing economy – India. This period is after the liberalization of the Indian economy. Thus, the authors test the hypotheses in this context. The authors expect that exports would surge for SMEs given the governance structures considered. The authors consider several governance modes and two types of product classifications, namely, products and services.

The authors find conditional support for the two models – indicating that governance structures do not consistently support finding new markets. Further, given the governance structure, EI is not consistently a means to improved performance. This is contrary to the expectations. However, at the same time, the authors do find evidence that governance matters and affects products and services differently.

While the authors conduct research in India which has a variety of cultures and state policies, the authors still believe comparative study with multi-country data from developing countries might bring further insights. Further, primary data would also help to understand governance and motivational effects (the authors did not consider the later). Implications: The authors believe the research will have implications for policy since the authors find effects of governance. Hence, specific policies that improve the performance of a governance type could be adopted.

Although SMEs are affected by many factors, the authors find significant effects for important variables. Hence, the authors believe the government could use the study to design proper policies so that new markets could be discovered through different governance forms, through strategic investment and capacity building.

SMEs are a key part of the social fabric of a society/country. The work deals with how SMEs could be helped. Hence, the authors believe the work has important implications for society. Further, as the work deals with large firm-SME interfaces, the authors also inform how these different governance structures are performing and where attention is needed.

The authors find that certain governance-type and SME-type work well together. Further, networks through the governance structures help find new markets – depending on SME-type. The authors find partial support for the Uppsala model and also for the BG model, again depending on the SME-type.

This study presents the impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU)-induced Trade Supply Chain Vulnerability (TSCV) on the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in India by leveraging the World Bank Enterprise Survey data for 2014 and 2022. Applying econometric techniques, it examines firm size’ influence on productivity and trade participation, providing insights for enhancing SME resilience and trade participation amid uncertainty.

The econometric techniques focus on export participation, along with variables such as total exports, firm size, productivity, and capital intensity. It addresses crucial factors such as the direct import of intermediate goods and foreign ownership. Utilizing the Cobb-Douglas production function, the study estimates Total Factor Productivity, mitigating endogeneity and multicollinearity through a two-stage process. Besides, the study uses a case study of North Indian SMEs engaged in manufacturing activities and their adoption of mitigation strategies to combat unprecedented EPU.

Results reveal that EPU-induced TSCV reduces exports, impacting employment and firm size. Increased productivity, driven by technological adoption, correlates with improved export performance. The study highlights the negative impact of TSCV on trade participation, particularly for smaller Indian firms. Moreover, SMEs implement cost-based, supplier-based, and inventory-based strategies more than technology-based and risk-based strategies.

Policy recommendations include promoting increased imports and inward foreign direct investment to enhance small firms’ trade integration during economic uncertainty. Tailored support for smaller firms, considering their limited capacity, is crucial. Encouraging small firms to engage in international trade and adopting diverse SC mitigation strategies associated with policy uncertainty are vital considerations.

This study explores the impact of EPU-induced TSCV on Indian SMEs’ trade dynamics, offering nuanced insights for policymakers to enhance SME resilience amid uncertainty. The econometric analysis unveils patterns in export behavior, productivity, and factors influencing trade participation during economic uncertainty.

This paper aims to investigate the moderating effect of political instability and regulatory obstacles on the relationship between corruption and export intensity in the context of Tunisian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This study uses data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES). The sample consists of 537 Tunisian SMEs. The partial least squares method was used to analyse the data.

The direct effect of corruption on export intensity was found to be non-significant. It was significantly negative when corruption was combined with regulatory obstacles, whereas it was positive when corruption coexisted with political instability. Additional analyses revealed that results were sensitive to firm size (small versus medium) and sector of activity (service versus manufacturing).

This paper has some limitations related to the use of secondary data. Enhanced variable measurements and more detailed data collection are recommended for future studies.

This paper is useful to researchers and policymakers who are interested in understanding the effects of a poor institutional environment on SME exports in developing countries.

This paper considers the impact of corruption on the export intensity of SMEs in the presence of political instability and regulatory obstacles in Tunisia. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the joint effect of these institutional variables on the exports of firms has not been examined in previous research.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model that portrays how contextual factors and behavioural cooperation mechanisms influence the effect of trade associations on the export performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a Latin American emerging economy.

The author draws on multiple streams of literature including: co-location, networks, cooperation and export performance to suggest a series of solid theoretical insights to the literature on SMEs’ export performance, networks and co-location in the Latin American context.

Contextual factors and behavioural cooperation mechanisms influence the effect of trade associations on export performance determining the final sign of such effect. Trust plays a role within all proposed mechanisms, but is not as fundamental as previously characterised in studies on the export performance of SMEs. Cooperation might exist, prevail, and exert a positive impact on SMEs’ export performance even in the absence of trust.

This paper contributes to the literature on SMEs’ export performance, networks and co-location in the Latin American context by presenting a theoretical model that enfolds co-location, networks, trade associations and cooperation effects on SMEs’ export performance under the same foundation. It creates the categories of “contextual factors” and “behavioural cooperation mechanisms” to differentiate the elements that weight on the relationship between firms and trade associations, thus facilitating or hindering export performance. It guides policy makers and company managers on where to focus when incentivizing conduct towards a more productive export performance in Latin America and other emerging economies.

Este artículo presenta un modelo teórico que describe cómo factores de contexto y mecanismos de cooperación conductuales impactan el efecto de las asociaciones de negocios en el desempeño exportador de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES) en el contexto de los países emergentes de América Latina.

Los autores se basan en diversas líneas de investigación de la literatura, incluyendo: Co-locación, Redes, Cooperación y Desempeño Exportador para sugerir una serie de conclusiones teóricas referentes a la relación entre las PYMES y las asociaciones de negocios.

Los factores contextuales y los mecanismos de cooperación conductuales influyen en el efecto de las asociaciones de negocios en el desempeño de las exportaciones de las PYMES, determinando el signo final de dicho efecto. La confianza desempeña un papel dentro de todos los mecanismos conductuales propuestos, pero no tan fundamental como se caracterizó previamente en los estudios sobre el desempeño exportador de PYMES. La cooperación podría existir, prevalecer y ejercer un impacto positivo en el desempeño de las exportaciones de las PYMES, incluso en ausencia de confianza.

Este artículo contribuye a la literatura enfocada en PYMES, redes, co-locación y desempeño exportador, mediante la introducción de un modelo teórico que incluye en una plataforma única los conceptos de co-localización, redes, asociaciones de negocios y efectos de la cooperación en el desempeño de las exportaciones de las PYMES. En adición, crea las categorías de “factores contextuales” y “mecanismos de cooperación conductual” para diferenciar los elementos que influyen en la relación entre las empresas y las asociaciones de negocios, facilitando u obstaculizando así el desempeño de las exportaciones de PYMES en América Latina y otras economías emergentes.

This article investigates the relationship between family ownership and export performance in the context of SMEs while also considering the moderating role of the financial dimension and, in particular, financial constraints and financial flexibility.

We select a sample of 1,132 Italian SMEs to examine through an econometric analysis the role and impact of family ownership and the financial moderating variables being used on their export performance.

The results indicate that there is a U-shaped relationship between family ownership and export performance: the highest levels of export performance correspond to the lowest and highest family ownership levels, whereas when a mixture of family and nonfamily ownership exists, the performance suffers because of “conflicting voices” dominating strategic visions and approaches, harming the firm's export commitment. Moreover, the findings show that lower financial constraints and/or stronger financial flexibility improve the relationship between family ownership and export performance.

Our findings show that the ownership structure is important for export performance; in particular, firms should avoid a mixture between family and nonfamily ownership because it is detrimental to export performance. Moreover, Italian SMEs need to develop sources of financing other than the banking channel, and policy makers should favour this process to overcome financial constraint problems and improve financial flexibility. Limitations concern the use of other econometric approaches and measurement variables to further investigate the connection between family ownership and export performance.

The present study enhances the comprehension of the complex relationship between family ownership and export performance by documenting the relevance of the level of family ownership and considering the moderating role of financial constraints and flexibility.

How do you create a strong and growing cadre of successful exporters? As will be demonstrated in this article, the current direction towards more open trading policies provides a small part of the solution, but does little to stimulate non‐exporters or develop new exporters. This article proposes a framework which could help all exporters reach their maximum potential and in doing so lay the groundwork for economic growth and prosperity. To ensure that South Africa’s economy reaches its fullest potential requires that the government follow up on the RDP and the DTI White Papers focus on exports with solid action. This would require a concerted effort on the part of the government to develop, manage, execute and evaluate programmes to the different needs of the firms at different stages of export development. By using the proposed framework, programmes can be created to help non‐exporters to become exporters, help new exporters to become committed exporters and eliminate the barriers to achieve more export successes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent, and in what ways, various types of bank support improve small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) export performance. It contributes to bank marketing and international marketing theory and practice by clarifying bank contributions to SME export performance at the firm level.

The study method is an on-site survey, encompassing 135 manufacturing Swedish SMEs. Five hypotheses are tested using ordinary least squares regression.

The higher the export performance, the greater the importance attributed to bank funding of international business. The importance of transaction and/or currency services provided by banks for SMEs’ ability to do business abroad was confirmed, but with the important limitation that the effect diminishes as the number of markets increases. Furthermore, the results indicate that SMEs with low export performance attach a high importance to the advisory services that banks can offer regarding international business. No significant results for knowledge sharing or support from bank contacts were found.

SME managers are encouraged to view banks as potential providers of a diverse set of value-added resources while taking into consideration that some banks will have more developed resources and support policies than others. The study results also assist banks in building effective strategies for enhancing their relationships with SME clients, as it provides detailed information on how SMEs relate different kinds of bank services to their export performance.

As the first paper to describe SME-perceived relationships between different bank services and export performance, this study informs bank marketing and international marketing theory about bank contributions to SME internationalisation.

Success in export ventures has been linked to managerial capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of exporting motivators on managerial perceptions of UK manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by investigating the links between export motivators and decision bias (i.e. predictable behavior).

Based on the Uppsala and resource-based view perspectives (using a sample of the UK’s independent manufacturing SMEs and utilizing a survey, correlation analysis, and factor analysis), this study finds and describes the effect of the most recurrent motivators and clusters of motivators from the literature on the SMEs’ decision to export by investigating the dimensions (research, external, reactive).

This study finds that export motivators can be separated into specific dimensions leading to potential selection bias. In addition, the importance of size, knowledge of foreign markets, and unsolicited orders show an association with the perceptions of motivator stimuli toward specific dimensions (research, external, reactive).

Government policy and SME export strategy need to understand managerial perceptions and bias better in order to allocate resources efficiently toward stimulating exporting.

The literature and empirical work on the topic have been fragmented and conflicting focusing on specific motivators but not necessarily explaining the selection or origin of motivators even less on SMEs. Dimensions have not been taken into account as clusters of motivators.