An Attitudinal Model to Determine the Export Intention of Non‐exporting, Small Manufacturers

Abstract

Germany's economic miracle was built on the success of small exporters (The Economist, 1993). However in many other developed, as well as developing countries, small exporters account for a minor share of total exports. For example, nearly 85 per cent of total exports of manufactured goods in the United States are accounted for by multinational companies (US Department of Commerce, 1987); in developing countries such as Mexico (INEGI, 1992) and Israel (Jaffe et al., 1988) there is also a high concentration of exports by large firms. This in spite of the fact that export as a mode of foreign-market entry requires the least amount of capital investment and has lower commercial and financial risk compared to some form of direct investment. A number of researchers (Bilkey and Tesar, 1977; Brooks and Rosson, 1982;Reid, 1982;Weaver and Pak, 1990) have investigated the reasons why more small and medium-sized firms do not export. These reasons may be external or internal to the firm. Externally, there may be insufficient economic incentives, especially in countries where the domestic market is protected from foreign competition. However, others claim that even in the absence of a closed market to foreign goods a lack of a national export policy with intended stimulants may also deter would-be exporters (Cavusgil and Nevin, 1981). Internally, small and medium-sized firms may lack the ability and/or skills to research overseas markets, find qualified distributors and invest in sales promotion. Or, the domestic market may present a sufficient challenge to their small organization and resource base.Most governments profess the importance of exports to economic growth. Some have industrial policies which include strategies for export expansion, but most do not emphasize a policy for small business. Given the paucity of budgets for overall export promotion (Canada spends ten times as much as the USA), a reluctance to allocate more funds for small business export development may be owing to a lack of ability to target those firms that have a high potential to succeed (Cavusgil, 1990) or those that may be motivated to export. Therefore,

Human capital and SME internationalization: a structural equation modeling study

“…Internationalization is benefi cial for economic growth (Jaffe & Pasternak, 1994) and for a country's well-being and international reputation (Diehl, Leibold, Koeglmayr, & Muller, 1984). Internationalization is an essential strategic choice for small fi rm growth (Skrt & Antoncic, 2004).…”

“…Research into the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has emphasized the role of entrepreneur-related elements that impact export performance, such as: strategy (Baird, Lyles, & Orris, 1994;Tyebjee, 1994); attitudes (Bijmolt & Zwart, 1994;Ogbuehi & Longfellow, 1994); commitment (Dhanaraj & Beamish, 2003); perceptions (Jaffe & Pasternak, 1994); orientations (Dichtl et al, 1984); the international experience of managers (Qian, 2002;Reuber & Fischer, 1997); as well as more integrative human capital elements (Andersson, 2000;Bilkey & Tesar, 1977;Cavusgil, 1993;Herrmann & Datta, 2002;Manolova, Brush, Edelman, & Greene, 2002;McAuley, 1999;Moini, 1995;Trevino & Grosse, 2002). Our study extends this literature in analyzing several dimensions of the human capital of a fi rm's chief entrepreneur with respect to their relative importance and infl uence on an SME's internationalization.…”

Entrepreneurship, export orientation, and economic growth

“…However, export activity is considered to be the first and most common step in a firm's international expansion (Young 1987;Young et al 1988), and export activity is the most common mode of foreign operation for new ventures (Zahra et al 1997). One reason why exporting is an important means for international expansion among newly established firms is that exporting does not require major capital investments (Erramilli and D'Souza 1993;Root 1994) and has lower commercial and financial risk as compared with, for example, foreign direct investment (Jaffe and Pasternak 1994). Whereas a large number of organizations, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations (UN) Commodity Trade Statistics Database (COMTRADE), and Eurostat, publish international comparative export data, there are no official international comparative export statistics relating to exports by small and new firms.…”

Building international entrepreneurship through entrepreneurship capital perspective

“…Studies about the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises have emphasized the role of entrepreneurrelated elements that impact export performance, for example: strategy (Baird et al, 1994), attitudes and perceptions (Jaffe and Pasternak, 1994) and the international experience of managers (Andersson, 2000). Entrepreneurs have individual assets that help them recognize new opportunities and assemble resources for new ventures.…”