Résumé
This paper investigates the relationship between exports and overseas links using data from the UK Community Innovation Survey. Overseas vertical and horizontal links are associated with an average increase in export intensity of 74 and 156 percent for vertical and horizontal overseas links respectively. Firm size shows no significant interactions with overseas links. The data suggests that overseas links are a relatively infrequent form of conducting trade. My findings support the role of government in fostering overseas links as, despite their rarity they are effective export conduits. [PUB ABSTRACT]
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Extrait
Overseas Links As Export Conduits
1 Introduction
Countries such as the UK devote considerable time and money to helping domestic firms to team up with partners abroad. Particular care is taken with smaller, resource constrained firms to ensure that they can afford to showcase their products at international conferences. For instance recent Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) operated by the UK Trade and Investment Group provides exhibition grants for small firms and organises groups of firms from similar industries to meet prospective foreign partner firms. Overseas links are not well covered in the literature and media. However, given work by various Governments to help firms initiate overseas links, it is time for an appraisal of links as effective trade conduits.The issue of firm size plays a role here, recalling the targeting of small firms for exhibition subsidies. Given the potential role of firm size in helping absorptive capacity, larger firms may well experience comparatively high exports when using overseas links. Absorptive capacity is key to understanding how a firm can expect to benefit from an external link (HARRIS and LI 2005).1 However, the ambiguity in literature regarding the predicted effect of firm size on absorptive capacity means that we still do not know whether small firms are disproportionately handicapped by their size when members of overseas links. One expected outcome of overseas links for a domestic firm, is that horizontal rather than vertical links translate into higher export levels, regardless of a firm's size.2This paper looks at the association between exports, member...Voir le contenu complet de ce document
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