IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v42y2014i2p407-435.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Export behaviour of SMEs in transition countries

Author

Listed:
  • Petrit Gashi
  • Iraj Hashi
  • Geoff Pugh

Abstract

Melitz’s dynamic model of export participation is the basis of our empirical specification that accounts for a wide range of internal and external factors affecting the export behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Transition Countries (TCs). Using firm-level data, our estimates highlight the particular importance of the human and technology-related factors to the export behaviour of SMEs in TCs. Other important factors for SME exporting activities are productivity-enhancing spillovers from industry—especially vertical—linkages, firm size, ownership type, type of activity, the availability of external finance, networking through business associations, and market share. In addition, significant period and country differences are identified. This paper contributes to the transition literature by filling an important gap in the understanding of the SME internationalisation process and by identifying a comprehensive set of variables to explain firms’ export behaviour in TCs. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Petrit Gashi & Iraj Hashi & Geoff Pugh, 2014. "Export behaviour of SMEs in transition countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 407-435, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:42:y:2014:i:2:p:407-435
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-013-9487-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11187-013-9487-7
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-013-9487-7?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. Bee Yan Aw & Mark J. Roberts & Daniel Yi Xu, 2011. "R&D Investment, Exporting, and Productivity Dynamics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1312-1344, June.
    2. Andrew B. Bernard & Jonathan Eaton & J. Bradford Jensen & Samuel Kortum, 2003. "Plants and Productivity in International Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1268-1290, September.
    3. Mills, David E & Schumann, Laurence, 1985. "Industry Structure with Fluctuating Demand," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 758-767, September.
    4. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 1994. "Endogenous Innovation in the Theory of Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 23-44, Winter.
    5. Carlin, Wendy & Glyn, Andrew & Van Reenen, John, 2001. "Export Market Performance of OECD Countries: An Empirical Examination of the Role of Cost Competitiveness," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(468), pages 128-162, January.
    6. Everett, Jim & Watson, John, 1998. "Small Business Failure and External Risk Factors," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 371-390, December.
    7. Arnaud Chevalier & Colm Harmon & Ian Walker & Yu Zhu, 2004. "Does Education Raise Productivity, or Just Reflect it?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(499), pages 499-517, November.
    8. Cynthia Bansak & Norman Morin & Martha Starr, 2007. "Technology, Capital Spending, And Capacity Utilization," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(3), pages 631-645, July.
    9. Patrick Royston, 2007. "Multiple imputation of missing values: further update of ice, with an emphasis on interval censoring," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(4), pages 445-464, December.
    10. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Jan Svejnar & Katherine Terrell, 2010. "Globalization and Innovation in Emerging Markets," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 194-226, April.
    11. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    12. 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.
    13. Thorsten Beck, 2003. "Financial Dependence and International Trade," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 296-316, May.
    14. 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.
    15. Plümper, Thomas & Troeger, Vera E., 2007. "Efficient Estimation of Time-Invariant and Rarely Changing Variables in Finite Sample Panel Analyses with Unit Fixed Effects," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 124-139, April.
    16. Richard Kneller & Mauro Pisu, 2007. "Industrial Linkages and Export Spillovers from FDI," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 105-134, January.
    17. Beck, Nathaniel & Katz, Jonathan N., 2001. "Throwing Out the Baby with the Bath Water: A Comment on Green, Kim, and Yoon," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(2), pages 487-495, April.
    18. Shirley Dex & Fiona Scheibl, 2001. "Flexible and Family‐Friendly Working Arrangements in UK‐Based SMEs: Business Cases," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 39(3), pages 411-431, September.
    19. Crick, Dave & Spence, Martine, 2005. "The internationalisation of 'high performing' UK high-tech SMEs: a study of planned and unplanned strategies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 167-185, April.
    20. Chad Syverson, 2011. "What Determines Productivity?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(2), pages 326-365, June.
    21. Alan Bevan & Saul Estrin & Mark E. Schaffer, 1999. "Determinants of Enterprise Performance during Transition," CERT Discussion Papers 9903, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    22. Mills, David E, 1984. "Demand Fluctuations and Endogenous Firm Flexibility," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 55-71, September.
    23. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Laeven, Luc & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 2006. "The determinants of financing obstacles," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 932-952, October.
    24. 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.
    25. Maria Vagliasindi, 2001. "Competition Policy Across Transition Economies," Revue d'Économie Financière, Programme National Persée, vol. 6(1), pages 215-250.
    26. Andrea Bonaccorsi, 1992. "On the Relationship Between Firm Size and Export Intensity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(4), pages 605-635, December.
    27. Marian V Jones & Nicole E Coviello, 2005. "Internationalisation: conceptualising an entrepreneurial process of behaviour in time," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 284-303, May.
    28. David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2007. "Firm heterogeneity, exporting and foreign direct investment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(517), pages 134-161, February.
    29. Joris Meijaard & Maryse Brand & Marco Mosselman, 2005. "Organizational Structure and Performance in Dutch small Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 83-96, August.
    30. Linsu Kim & Jeffrey B. Nugent & Seung‐Jae Yhee, 1997. "Transaction Costs And Export Channels Of Small And Medium‐Sized Enterprises: The Case Of Korea," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 15(1), pages 104-120, January.
    31. Djankov, Simeon & Hoekman, Bernard M, 2000. "Foreign Investment and Productivity Growth in Czech Enterprises," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(1), pages 49-64, January.
    32. repec:lic:licosd:14804 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Beata Smarzynska Javorcik, 2004. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers Through Backward Linkages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 605-627, June.
    34. William Greene, 2004. "Fixed Effects and Bias Due to the Incidental Parameters Problem in the Tobit Model," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 125-147.
    35. Wakelin, Katharine, 1998. "Innovation and export behaviour at the firm level," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(7-8), pages 829-841, April.
    36. Michael Bleaney & Katharine Wakelin, 2002. "Efficiency, innovation and exports," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 64(1), pages 3-15, February.
    37. John Dunning, 2001. "The Eclectic (OLI) Paradigm of International Production: Past, Present and Future," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 173-190.
    38. Patrick Royston, 2005. "Multiple imputation of missing values: update," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 5(2), pages 188-201, June.
    39. Bernadette Power & Gavin Reid, 2005. "Flexibility, Firm-Specific Turbulence and the Performance of the Long-lived Small Firm," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 26(4), pages 415-443, June.
    40. Patrick Royston, 2005. "Multiple imputation of missing values: Update of ice," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 5(4), pages 527-536, December.
    41. Bartlett, Will & Rangelova, Rossitsa, 1997. "Small Firms and Economic Transformation in Bulgaria," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 319-333, August.
    42. John B. Carlin & John C. Galati & Patrick Royston, 2008. "A new framework for managing and analyzing multiply imputed data in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 8(1), pages 49-67, February.
    43. 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.
    44. Beck, Thorsten & Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 2008. "Financing patterns around the world: Are small firms different?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 467-487, September.
    45. 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.
    46. Demsetz, Harold, 1997. "The Firm in Economic Theory: A Quiet Revolution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 426-429, May.
    47. Robert J. Bennett, 1998. "Business associations and their potential contribution to the competitiveness of SMEs," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 243-260, January.
    48. Jozef Konings, 2001. "The effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 9(3), pages 619-633, November.
    49. Audretsch,David B. & Thurik,Roy (ed.), 1999. "Innovation, Industry Evolution and Employment," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521641661, September.
    50. Dirk Clercq & Harry Sapienza & Hans Crijns, 2005. "The Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 409-419, May.
    51. Smallbone, David & Welter, Friederike, 2001. "The Distinctiveness of Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 249-262, June.
    52. James Tobin, 1956. "Estimation of Relationships for Limited Dependent Variables," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 3R, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    53. Christopher F Baum, 2008. "Stata tip 63: Modeling proportions," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 8(2), pages 299-303, June.
    54. Ivan T. Kandilov & Thomas Grennes, 2010. "The determinants of service exports from Central and Eastern Europe," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 18(4), pages 763-794, October.
    55. Ricardo A. López, 2005. "Trade and Growth: Reconciling the Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 623-648, September.
    56. Bee Yan Aw & Mark J. Roberts & Daniel Yi Xu, 2008. "R&D Investments, Exporting, and the Evolution of Firm Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 451-456, May.
    57. John Sutton, 2007. "Quality, Trade and the Moving Window: The Globalisation Process," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(524), pages 469-498, November.
    58. John Hutchinson & Ana Xavier, 2006. "Comparing the Impact of Credit Constraints on the Growth of SMEs in a Transition Country with an Established Market Economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 169-179, October.
    59. Greenaway, David & Sousa, Nuno & Wakelin, Katharine, 2004. "Do domestic firms learn to export from multinationals?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 1027-1043, November.
    60. John McMillan & Christopher Woodruff, 2002. "The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 153-170, Summer.
    61. Beck, Thorsten, 2002. "Financial development and international trade: Is there a link?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 107-131, June.
    62. Ksenia Yudaeva & Konstantin Kozlov & Natalia Melentieva & Natalia Ponomareva, 2003. "Does foreign ownership matter?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 11(3), pages 383-409, September.
    63. Leonardo Becchetti & Stefania Rossi, 2000. "The Positive Effect of Industrial District on the Export Performance of Italian Firms," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 16(1), pages 53-68, February.
    64. Patrick Royston, 2005. "MICE for multiple imputation of missing values," United Kingdom Stata Users' Group Meetings 2005 02, Stata Users Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Muhammed BENLI, 2016. "FDI and export spillovers using Heckman’s two step approach: Evidence from Turkish manufacturing data," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(4(609), W), pages 315-342, Winter.
    2. Muhammed BENLI, 2016. "FDI and export spillovers using Heckman’s two step approach: Evidence from Turkish manufacturing data," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(4(609), W), pages 315-342, Winter.
    3. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    4. Rodil, Óscar & Vence, Xavier & Sánchez, María del Carmen, 2016. "The relationship between innovation and export behaviour: The case of Galician firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 248-265.
    5. Emmanuel Dhyne & Selen Sarisoy Guerin, 2014. "Outward foreign direct investment and domestic performance : In search of a causal link," Working Paper Research 272, National Bank of Belgium.
    6. Richard Harris & John Moffat, 2011. "R&D, Innovation and Exporting," SERC Discussion Papers 0073, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. 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.
    8. Valeria Gattai, 2015. "Foreign exposure and heterogeneous performance of Italian firms: A survey of the empirical literature (1992-2014)," Working Papers 300, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2015.
    9. Raffaele Brancati & Emanuela Marrocu & Manuel Romagnoli & Stefano Usai, 2018. "Innovation activities and learning processes in the crisis: evidence from Italian export in manufacturing and services," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(1), pages 107-130.
    10. Valeria Gattai, 2015. "Internationalisation and performance at the firm-level: what we learn from Italy," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 42(4), pages 475-509, December.
    11. Di Cintio, Marco & Ghosh, Sucharita & Grassi, Emanuele, 2017. "Firm growth, R&D expenditures and exports: An empirical analysis of italian SMEs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 836-852.
    12. 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.
    13. Cees Beers & Gerben Panne, 2011. "Geography, knowledge spillovers and small firms’ exports: an empirical examination for The Netherlands," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 325-339, October.
    14. 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.
    15. Horácio C. Faustino & Joana C. Lima & Pedro Verga Matos, 2012. "Exports, Productivity and Innovation: Evidence from Portugal using micro data," Working Papers Department of Economics 2012/13, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa.
    16. Andrea Ciani & Michele Imbruno, 2017. "Microeconomic mechanisms behind export spillovers from FDI: evidence from Bulgaria," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 153(4), pages 703-734, November.
    17. Anwar, Sajid & Nguyen, Lan Phi, 2011. "Foreign direct investment and export spillovers: Evidence from Vietnam," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 177-193, April.
    18. Başak Dalgıç & Burcu Fazlıoğlu & Michael Gasiorek, 2015. "Export Spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Turkey," Working Papers 2015/08, Turkish Economic Association.
    19. Gopinath, Munisamy & Sheldon, Ian M. & Echeverria, Rodrigo, 2007. "Firm Heterogeneity and International Trade: Implications for Agricultural and Food Industries," Trade Issues Papers 9349, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.
    20. Impullitti, Giammario & Irarrazabal, Alfonso A. & Opromolla, Luca David, 2013. "A theory of entry into and exit from export markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 75-90.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Export behaviour; SMEs; Transition countries; Melitz’s dynamic model; Spillovers; Multiple imputation; F14; F23; M16; P33; L26;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • M16 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - International Business Administration
    • P33 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - International Trade, Finance, Investment, Relations, and Aid
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

    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:kap:sbusec:v:42:y:2014:i:2:p:407-435. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.