The Impact of Export Promotion Programs on Firms’ Export Competencies and Performance in a Transition Economy: The Case of Russian Manufacturers

The standalone and resource-bundling effects of government and nongovernment institutional support on early internationalizing firms’ performance

“…Government offers financial assistance in the form of tax-free import, duty draw back scheme, tax rebate, direct subsidy, export credit, lower interest rate and guarantee requirement, and special fund (Faroque and Takahashi, 2015;Freixanet and Churakova, 2018;Wang et al, 2017). Though financial assistance can help a firm reduce operating costs and become more profitable and efficient in its export activities (Gençtürk and Kotabe 2001), recent studies have reported inconclusive findings for the relationship between financial incentives and firm performance (e.g., Catanzaro et al, 2019;Quaye et al, 2017).…”

“…Though financial assistance can help a firm reduce operating costs and become more profitable and efficient in its export activities (Gençtürk and Kotabe 2001), recent studies have reported inconclusive findings for the relationship between financial incentives and firm performance (e.g., Catanzaro et al, 2019;Quaye et al, 2017). In addition to financial assistance, government offers marketing support which can be further divided into (a) experiential: foreign office, foreign trade mission, and trade exhibition and fair (Haddoud et al, 2018;Ali and Shamsuddoha, 2014), and (b) informational: training session, workshop and seminar (Catanzaro et al, 2019;Freixanet and Churakova, 2018). Experiential support, creating a platform for direct contacts with foreign markets and buyers, can be more effective than informational (Haddoud et al, 2017).…”

“…This type of support is extremely valuable to apparel manufacturers and exporters since they need to physically present clothing samples to potential clients for testing (Drake and Kalafsky, 2011). Despite the benefits of export marketing assistance, empirical research investigating the impact of such support on firms' performance reported mixed results (e.g., Faroque and Takahashi, 2015;Freixanet, 2012;Freixanet and Churakova, 2018;Haddoud et al, 2018). Support from nongovernment institutions, such as agents, distributors, suppliers, business associations and private banks, positively influences firms' export performance (Sousa et al, 2008).…”

“…Although extant literature analyzed the relationship between export assistance and firms' performance, the findings are largely inconclusive. Some studies found a significant positive effect of export support (e.g., Ali and Shamsuddoha, 2014;Durmuşoğlu et al, 2012;Gillespie and Riddle 2004;Freixanet, 2012;Sousa and Bradley 2009;Wilkinson and Brouthers, 2006), while some reported a non-significant relationship or a mixed result (e.g., Catanzaro et al, 2019;Faroque and Takahashi, 2015;Freixanet and Churakova, 2018;Njinyah, 2018;Quaye et al, 2017). The inconclusive findings have initiated further research to examine the indirect relationship, mediated (e.g., Faroque and Takahashi, 2012;Haddoud et al, 2017;Lages and Montgomery, 2005;Sharma et al, 2018) or moderated by other variables (e.g., D'Angelo and Buck, 2019;LiPuma et al, 2013).…”

Knowledge Intensive Herbal City Community Innovative Services in Thailand: Role of Solutions Provision Competence

“…Innovative services provide the competitive edge to the companies to enhance the overall performance. In this direction, it is given in previous studies that company's core competencies are vital for the performance (Freixanet & Churakova, 2018;Mohammed, Hu, Obrenovic, & Aina, 2017).…”