Capacity Building as a Route to Export Market Expansion : A Six-Country Experiment in the Western Balkans
The limited market size of many small emerging economies is a key constraint to the growth of innovative small and medium enterprises. Exporting offers a potential solution, but firms may struggle to locate and appeal to foreign buyers. A six-country randomized experiment was conducted with 225 firms in the Western Balkans to test the effectiveness of 30 hours of live group-based training and 5 hours of one-on-one remote consulting in overcoming these constraints. Treated firms used techniques such as search engine optimization and improved Facebook content to increase their digital presence and better reach foreign customers. A year later, positive and significant impacts are found on the number of customers, and a significant intensive margin increase in export sales. Qualitative interviews suggest this improvement came from a combination of sector-specific advice on market expansion, and through an encouragement effect which gave entrepreneurs the confidence to try new sales strategies.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022-12
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| Subjects: | EXPORT MARKET EXPANSION, TRAINING, CONSULTING, DIGITAL PRESENCE, CUSTOMER ACQUISITION, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SME), MARKETING TRAINING, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099415512072241245/IDU0c2e6b3a90ae8704ffc0a48700caa1b8961cc http://hdl.handle.net/10986/38441 |
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