Title: Knowledge against credit market restrictions: which is the problem for SMEs' internationalisation?

Authors: Carlos F. Cea; José A. Gonzalo-Angulo; José L. Crespo-Espert

Addresses: University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain ' University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain ' University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

Abstract: Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) can improve their export performance by adopting appropriate marketing strategies. However, firms' lack of resources, such as the unavailability of credit, can make this endeavour much more difficult. In this paper, we analyse the role of collaborations and the possibility of using non-financial tailored resource-based institutional support, as a tool that managers may use to try to overcome liquidity constraints provoked by tough credit market restrictions. To achieve this, the analysis should be carried out using a contrafactual framework. Therefore, we use firm-level data of 1585 firms that have used this type of support during the 2000-2013 period, to which we match non-benefitting firms correcting for selection bias using matching techniques and evaluating effects three years after receiving support. Our results show that SMEs that developed their international marketing strategies this way had better export performance, especially during the period with credit market restrictions.

Keywords: SMEs; export performance; international marketing strategy; RBV; credit market restrictions; export promotion programs; propensity score matching; Spain.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2021.118579

European Journal of International Management, 2021 Vol.16 No.4, pp.668 - 693

Received: 23 May 2019
Accepted: 23 Oct 2019
Published online: 29 Oct 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article