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R&D-Related Capabilities as Determinants of Export Performance

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Abstract

Empirical evidence from a sample of independent and privately held specialized suppliers all of which are engaged in formal R&D activities shows that specific R&D-related capabilities are determinants of different types of export performance. The major contribution of this paper is to take into account traditional measures of R&D activities as well as a broad range of R&D-related capabilities to further our understanding of the export behavior of SMEs in terms of volume and final destination of sales. Results suggest that the set of determinants varies with firms' internationalization process. In particular, determinants associated with the more global firms are significantly at odds with our traditional conception of a small firm and appear to be more aligned with the behavior generally found in proactive large exporters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, École Polytechnique, P.O. Box 6079, Station Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2A5 and

    Élisabeth Lefebvre, Louis A. Lefebvre & Mario Bourgault

  2. CIRANO, Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations, USA

    Élisabeth Lefebvre

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  1. Élisabeth Lefebvre
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  2. Louis A. Lefebvre
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  3. Mario Bourgault
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Lefebvre, É., Lefebvre, L.A. & Bourgault, M. R&D-Related Capabilities as Determinants of Export Performance. Small Business Economics 10, 365–377 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007960431147

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