IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/quaeco/v58y2015icp1-17.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Playing the lottery or dressing up? A model of firm-level heterogeneity and the decision to export

Author

Listed:
  • Naudé, Wim
  • Gries, Thomas
  • Bilkic, Natasa

Abstract

In models of firm heterogeneity whether firms export or not depends on their productivity. These models assume that firms enter a market only to find their productivity levels revealed to them as in a lottery. However, if productivity is not determined as in a lottery, why do some firms export early and some late? In this paper we propose a model of firm heterogeneity to address this question. In our model exporting is an investment decision with a real option value. Our model illustrates that whether not a firm exports is a matter of timing. Some firms may always find it more worthwhile to postpone exporting, depending on the nature of the product, the target market, and firm-level characteristics. For instance, our model shows that firms evaluating exporting to a volatile, or two foreign market, will need more time to dress up (prepare) for this. We derive implications for policies to support exporting.

Suggested Citation

  • Naudé, Wim & Gries, Thomas & Bilkic, Natasa, 2015. "Playing the lottery or dressing up? A model of firm-level heterogeneity and the decision to export," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:1-17
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2015.02.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1062976915000290
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.qref.2015.02.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "Exports and Productivity: A Survey of the Evidence from Firm Level Data," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Microeconometrics of International Trade, chapter 1, pages 3-41, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Marin, Dalia & Verdier, Thierry, 2007. "Competing in Organizations: Firm Heterogeneity and International Trade," Discussion Papers in Economics 1933, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    3. Elhanan Helpman & Marc J. Melitz & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2004. "Export Versus FDI with Heterogeneous Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 300-316, March.
    4. Dixit, Avinash K, 1989. "Entry and Exit Decisions under Uncertainty," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 620-638, June.
    5. Davide Castellani & Giorgia Giovannetti, 2010. "Productivity and the international firm: dissecting heterogeneity," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 25-42.
    6. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    7. Han-Hsin Chang & Charles Van Marrewijk, 2013. "Firm heterogeneity and development: Evidence from Latin American countries," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 11-52, February.
    8. Wim Naudé & Stephanié Rossouw, 2010. "Early international entrepreneurship in China: Extent and determinants," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 87-111, March.
    9. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2007. "Firms in International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(3), pages 105-130, Summer.
    10. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    11. Bernard, Andrew B. & Bradford Jensen, J., 1999. "Exceptional exporter performance: cause, effect, or both?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-25, February.
    12. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen, 1999. "Exporting and Productivity," NBER Working Papers 7135, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2007. "Firm heterogeneity, exporting and foreign direct investment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(517), pages 134-161, February.
    14. Marco Ceccagnoli, 2005. "Firm Heterogeneity, Imitation, And The Incentives For Cost Reducing R&D Effort," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 83-100, March.
    15. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen, 2004. "Why Some Firms Export," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 561-569, May.
    16. Paula Bustos, 2011. "Trade Liberalization, Exports, and Technology Upgrading: Evidence on the Impact of MERCOSUR on Argentinian Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(1), pages 304-340, February.
    17. Alla Lileeva & Daniel Trefler, 2010. "Improved Access to Foreign Markets Raises Plant-level Productivity…For Some Plants," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(3), pages 1051-1099.
    18. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qi, Guoyou & Zou, Hailiang & Xie, Xuemei & Meng, Xiaohua & Fan, Tijun & Cao, Yuanhe, 2020. "Obedience or escape: Examining the contingency influences of corruption on firm exports," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 261-272.
    2. Qi, Jianhong & Zhang, Zhaoyong & Liu, Hui, 2018. "Credit constraints and firm market entry decision: Firm-level evidence from internationalizing Chinese multinationals," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 272-285.
    3. Wim Naudé & Martin Cameron, 2021. "Export-Led Growth after COVID-19: The Case of Portugal," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 52, pages 7-53, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Naudé, Wim & Gries, Thomas & Bilkic, Natasa, 2013. "Firm-Level Heterogeneity and the Decision to Export: A Real Option Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 7346, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Todo, Yasuyuki & Sato, Hitoshi, 2014. "Effects of presidents’ characteristics on internationalization of small and medium firms in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 236-255.
    3. Aida Caldera, 2010. "Innovation and exporting: evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 146(4), pages 657-689, December.
    4. Antonietti, Roberto & Marzucchi, Alberto, 2014. "Green tangible investment strategies and export performance: A firm-level investigation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 150-161.
    5. Naudé, Wim & Matthee, Marianne, 2012. "Do Export Costs Matter in Determining Whether, When, and How Much African Firms Export?," Working Papers 38, JICA Research Institute.
    6. Roberto Antonietti & Alberto Marzucchi, 2013. "Green Investment Strategies and Export Performance: A Firm-level Investigation," Working Papers 2013.76, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    7. Ito, Banri & Xu, Zhaoyuan & Yashiro, Naomitsu, 2015. "Does agglomeration promote internationalization of Chinese firms?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 109-121.
    8. Irene Brambilla & Nicolas Depetris Chauvin & Guido Porto, 2017. "Examining the Export Wage Premium in Developing Countries," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 447-475, August.
    9. Neil Foster & Roman Stöllinger & Carlo Altomonte & Richard Kneller, 2012. "The Trade-Productivity Nexus in the European Economy," FIW Specials series 005, FIW.
    10. Alessandro Borin & Michele Mancini, 2016. "Foreign direct investment and firm performance: an empirical analysis of Italian firms," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(4), pages 705-732, November.
    11. Martijn Boermans & Hein Roelfsema, 2015. "The Effects of Internationalization on Innovation: Firm-Level Evidence for Transition Economies," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 333-350, April.
    12. Cebreros Alfonso, 2019. "The Micro-economics of Export Supply: Firm-Level Evidence from Mexico," Working Papers 2019-02, Banco de México.
    13. Enrique López-Bazo & Elisabet Motellón, 2013. "“Firm exports, innovation, … and regions”," IREA Working Papers 201308, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised May 2013.
    14. Federici, Daniela & Parisi, Valentino & Ferrante, Francesco, 2020. "Heterogeneous firms, corporate taxes and export behavior: A firm-level investigation for Italy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 98-112.
    15. Silviano Esteve-Pérez & Diego Rodríguez, 2013. "The dynamics of exports and R&D in SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 219-240, June.
    16. Gkypali, Areti & Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen, 2021. "Export status and SME productivity: Learning-to-export versus learning-by-exporting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 486-498.
    17. Jaan Masso & Priit Vahter, 2011. "Exporting And Productivity: The Effects Of Multi-Market And Multi-Product Export Entry," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 83, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    18. Richard Harris & John Moffat, 2011. "R&D, Innovation and Exporting," SERC Discussion Papers 0073, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    19. Holger Breinlich & Alessandra Tucci, 2011. "Foreign market conditions and export performance: does ‘crowdedness’ reduce exports?," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(3), pages 991-1019, August.
    20. Cristiano Antonelli & Christophe Feder, 2021. "The Schumpeterian creative response: export and innovation: evidence for OECD countries 1995–2015," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(3), pages 803-821, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International entrepreneurship; Firm-level heterogeneity; Start-ups; Real options; Stochastic dynamic programming;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D92 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice, Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:1-17. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620167 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.