Performance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Services Trade: Evidence from French Firms

Iza Lejárraga, Harald Oberhofer

Publication: Scientific journalJournal articlepeer-review

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Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the key firm- and industry-specific restrictions to the
performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in services trade. For this
purpose, we use firm-level data from firms in France operating in different services sectors
over the time period 1998 to 2007 and formulate two-part models consisting of (i) (dy
namic) export equations and (ii) (dynamic) export share equations. Our results confirm
the view that a relatively low share of SMEs engage in services trade. In line with the
new-new trade theory, our results also corroborate that more productive SMEs have a
higher export probability. The key finding of this paper is that the export decisions of
SMEs in services sectors are estimated to be extremely persistent, implying that trade pol
icy efforts, including the allocation of scarce trade promotion budgets, should be directed
at addressing the barriers faced in establishing the first export operation. Finally, our
sub-sectoral estimates reveal considerable heterogeneity across different types of services.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)673 - 702
JournalSmall Business Economics
Volume45
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

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