Innovative Capabilities as Determinants of Export Performance and Behaviour: A Longitudinal Study of Manufacturing SMEs

Elisabeth Lefebvre and Louis-André Lefebvre
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Elisabeth Lefebvre: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
Louis-André Lefebvre: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Chapter 12 in Innovation and Firm Performance, 2002, pp 281-309 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Even though small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) share of world trade still remains much lower than that of larger firms, numerous studies indicate that many SMEs are nevertheless very active abroad, and rely increasingly on the development of foreign markets to ensure corporate growth. For example, SMEs are ‘directly producing about 20 percent of OECD exports and about 35 per cent of Asia’s exports’ (OECD, 1997, p. 7). A report issued by the US Secretary of Trade and Commerce reveals that 70 per cent of all exporting firms were small firms with fewer than 100 employees (Prozak, 1993). SMEs are also the fastest-growing group of exporters in the USA (Axinn et ah, 1994, p. 49). A similar trend is observed in Canada, where the number of SMEs involved in export activities doubled in the six-year period from 1986 to 1992 (Industry Canada, 1996). In the future, SMEs are likely to be even more exposed to international competition (Reynold, 1997; OECD, 1997).

Keywords: Small Business; Small Firm; Foreign Market; Technological Capability; Export Performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1057/9780230595880_12

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