Reaching Out: Exploring SME Exporting Opportunities and Challenges

This study by the Western Centre for Economic Research (WCER) examines small business exports to US and other international markets based on a 2007 survey of 387 firms with less than 100 employees. Most firms were in the manufacturing sector, supplemented by a few firms in professional and technical services. All participants were existing or past exporters and apart from a sprinkling of start-ups, most firms in the survey were well established. Our research was organized around four themes: the role of exports in growth strategies; the marketing chain and how firms find export markets; perceived barriers to exporting (including the thickening Canada-US border since 9/11); and indirect exporting and the role of foreign suppliers. Most of our findings did not differ by province; but where they did, the differences are noted. For interested readers, findings for each province are presented in the appendices. Our findings suggest that there is a strong role for public policy in improving Western Canada’s export performance and in addressing some of the particular challenges and barriers identified by respondents.