Learning by exporting: lessons from high-technology SMEs

James H. Love; Panagiotis Ganotakis

doi:10.1016/j.ibusrev.2012.01.006

Learning by exporting: lessons from high-technology SMEs

James H. Love, Panagiotis Ganotakis

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We investigate the learning by exporting hypothesis by examining the effect of exporting on the subsequent innovation performance of a sample of high-technology SMEs based in the UK. We find evidence of learning by exporting, but the pattern of this effect is complex. Exporting helps high-tech SMEs innovate subsequently, but does not make them more innovation intensive. There is evidence that consistent exposure to export markets helps firms overcome the innovation hurdle, but that there is a positive scale effect of exposure to export markets which allows innovative firms to sell more of their new-to-market products on entering export markets. Service sector firms are able to reap the benefits of exposure to export markets at an earlier (entry) stage of the internationalization process than are manufacturing firms. Innovation-intensive firms exhibit a different pattern of entry to and exit from export markets from low-intensity innovators, and this is reflected in different effects of exporting.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-17
Number of pages	17
Journal	International Business Review
Volume	22
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2012.01.006
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2013

Bibliographical note

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International business review. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Love, JH & Ganotakis, P, 'Learning by exporting: lessons from high-technology SMEs' International business review, vol 22, no. 1 (2013) DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2012.01.006

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10.1016/j.ibusrev.2012.01.006

Learning by exporting
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International business review. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Love, JH & Ganotakis, P, 'Learning by exporting: lessons from high-technology SMEs' International business review, vol 22, no. 1 (2013) DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2012.01.006
Accepted author manuscript, 207 KB

Cite this

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abstract = "We investigate the learning by exporting hypothesis by examining the effect of exporting on the subsequent innovation performance of a sample of high-technology SMEs based in the UK. We find evidence of learning by exporting, but the pattern of this effect is complex. Exporting helps high-tech SMEs innovate subsequently, but does not make them more innovation intensive. There is evidence that consistent exposure to export markets helps firms overcome the innovation hurdle, but that there is a positive scale effect of exposure to export markets which allows innovative firms to sell more of their new-to-market products on entering export markets. Service sector firms are able to reap the benefits of exposure to export markets at an earlier (entry) stage of the internationalization process than are manufacturing firms. Innovation-intensive firms exhibit a different pattern of entry to and exit from export markets from low-intensity innovators, and this is reflected in different effects of exporting.",

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Learning by exporting: lessons from high-technology SMEs

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