International sourcing and the productivity of SMEs in transition countries: Formal and informal ‘region effects’ and the communist footprint

María Jesús Nieto, Alicia Rodríguez and Virginia Hernández

Journal of Business Research, 2022, vol. 145, issue C, 347-359

Abstract: We study how SMEs in transition countries can boost productivity by sourcing inputs from regions with which they share formal institutional links (the European Union) or informal links (the former communist bloc). Additionally, we discuss how the length of the communist footprint may modify these productivity gains. Using a sample of SMEs located in Eastern Europe, we find a positive relation between firm productivity and inputs from regions with formal and informal institutional links. We also find that this positive relation is weaker for firms with longer communist footprints that source inputs from EU countries.

Keywords: International sourcing; Transition countries; Region effect; Productivity; Institutional links; Communist footprint; SMEs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:145:y:2022:i:c:p:347-359

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.02.069

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