eva‎luating the effect of export promotion programs of technology-based firms on their internationalization

1/29/2024 12:00:00 AM

Export development and support for the internationalization of companies are always on the agenda of governments and supporting institutions. Export development programs that are designed and implemented by private or governmental export development centers are among the policies that countries implement to remove obstacles to the presence of companies, especially small and medium-sized companies, in international markets. Recognizing the various functions of these institutions, measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs, and the difference in their efficiency among different audiences, such as newcomers or experienced export companies, has been one of the topics of interest to researchers and policymakers in the field of internationalization of companies in recent years. In Iran, as a developing country with an oil-dependent economy, developing non-oil exports and increasing the share of knowledge-based products in the country's export portfolio has always been one of the core goals of achieving a leap in production and a knowledge-based economy. Although the export of knowledge-based products currently accounts for a small share of the country's exports, following the quantitative and qualitative development of the ecosystem of knowledge-based companies in recent years and the relative success of these companies in meeting the country's need for some high-tech equipment and goods, these companies have the capacity to become a key and influential institution in the country's economy and it is vital to their survival. In this research, along with a comprehensive overview of global studies in the field of export development programs, the concepts, characteristics, and components of this topic will be described, and descriptive statistics related to the articles will be presented to provide a comprehensive picture of the conducted research. The findings of the review research have shown five basic axes, including the level of awareness of export development programs, support based on the size or export experience of the company, the level of private sector participation in the board of directors of export development institutions, and finally, the presence of governmental and diplomatic representatives active in the countries as the main decision-making axes have been identified in the field of developing support programs and resource allocation. Two research questions titled the effect of support on the transformation of non-exporters into exporter companies and also the effect of support on increasing exports of companies with export experience were examined in this research. Finally, we came to the conclusion that the support given to knowledge-based companies without export experience has caused these companies to start exporting and actually become an exporter company, however, these supports have not had an impact on the increase in exports of companies that already have export experience and have received support for export development. Also, the result of the statistical research on the data and the exact amount of support provided to knowledge-based companies and comparing it with the number of exports made by each of the knowledge-based companies in a period after receiving support, led to eva‎luating the effect of export promotion programs of technology-based firms on their internationalization, and the results showed that the support provided to knowledge-based companies in 2018 did not lead to an increase in their exports in 2019. Also, finally, to improve the current knowledge of managers, implications of the studies conducted for policymakers in the field of export of knowledge-based companies have been presented.

برنامه‌هاي توسعه صادرات , نهاد توسعه صادرات , بين‌المللي شدن , شركت‌هاي‌ دانش‌بنيان , ارزيابي سياستهاي توسعه صادرات

Export Promotion programs , Export Promotion agency , Internationalization , Technology-Based Firms , eva‎luation of export development policies

Mohsen Rahimzadeh

Amir Zakery