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The purpose of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of public policies on the international performance of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Specifically, we investigate the effect of public export promotion programs (EPPs) on two types of organizational capabilities, i.e. export capabilities which have been already used in previous modelization, and international risk management practices as an original variable intended to better explain the effectiveness of public policies on the SME's international performance. We use a quantitative methodology based on a structural equation modeling approach applied to a sample of 147 internationalized French SME that used EPPs. Our results add value to theoretical and empirical knowledge on the effectiveness of public support programs on the international performance of SMEs, since we demonstrate an indirect effect between EPPs and international performance, through export capabilities and risk management practices. We also show that by strengthening the risk management practices, EPPs stimulate the SME in implementing foreign direct investment strategies.

International audiencePurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the environment-strategy-structure fit in the context of industrial servitization and its impact on the profitability of manufacturing SMEs.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from face-to-face interviews with the CEOs of 184 French manufacturing SMEs. These primary data were complemented by the indicators extracted from a financial database to ensure objective measures of financial performance. Analyses were conducted by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsThe research tests the impact of the organizational design (customer interface, service delivery system and service culture (SC)) on financial performance. It also tests the moderating effect on this relationship of servitization strategies adopted by the firm (added services (AS), activities reconfiguration (AR) and business model reconfiguration (BMR)) and the environment in which the firm is situated (industry dynamism, competitive intensity and industry munificence).Research limitations/implicationsThis study considers the coalescence of the environment-strategy-structure to be a driver of firm performance in the context of industrial firms’ servitization. Three specific servitization strategies (AS, AR and BMR) are suggested based on the service offering’s impact on the customer’s activity chain or business model.Practical implicationsThe research proposes some optimal organizational design depending on servitization strategy and environmental factors; for example, SC has a strong impact on financial performance when BMR is adopted.Originality/valueThis empirical study is based on an extended sample of 184 SMEs and provides quantitative support for the claim that good alignment between strategy and organizational design based on environmental factors increases profitability

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