Beyond Firm Size: Managerial Practices, Sustainability Upgrading and Export Readiness in Ecuadorian Firms

Export participation in emerging economies depends not only on structural firm characteristics but also on internal organizational capabilities that support international readiness. This study examines whether managerial practices and sustainability are associated with export participation among Ecuadorian firms and whether this relationship coexists with complementary capabilities such as quality certification and process innovation. Using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey Ecuador 2024, the study applies a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design and estimates weighted logit models with region and sector fixed effects, complemented by robustness checks including alternative specifications, penalized logit, alternative inference for few clusters, and models of export intensity. The results show that managerial practices are the most consistent predictor of export participation in the main specifications. Sustainability presents a weaker but positive association, particularly when measured as the intensity of sustainable practices rather than as a binary condition. Quality certification emerges as the most consistent complementary capability, while process innovation shows a positive but less stable relationship. Additional analyses indicate that these capabilities are more clearly associated with the decision to export than with export intensity. The findings suggest that export readiness in Ecuadorian firms is linked to management, standardization, and gradual sustainability upgrading.