Why Small Firms Export: Another Look

This article examines what factors motivate small firms to export. Specifically, this study looks at firms with 200 or fewer employees, dividing the sample into two groups: firms with 25 or fewer employees and firms with more than 25 employees. The results suggest that firms with 25 or fewer employe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of small business management 2002-01, Vol.40 (1), p.17-26
Main Author: Pope, Ralph A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Economies of scale
Employees
Exports
Globalization
International trade
Likert scale
Research methodology
Small business
Statistical analysis
Studies
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:This article examines what factors motivate small firms to export. Specifically, this study looks at firms with 200 or fewer employees, dividing the sample into two groups: firms with 25 or fewer employees and firms with more than 25 employees. The results suggest that firms with 25 or fewer employees export for two main reasons: the firm has a unique product, and it has a technological advantage over competitors. Firms with more than 25 employees export for the above two reasons, plus two additional reasons: to achieve economies of scale and to avoid losing out on foreign opportunities. Due to the limitations of the size and scope of this research, future research should include additional SIC categories as well as firms outside California.
ISSN:0047-2778
0447-2778
1540-627X
DOI:10.1111/1540-627X.00035