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Fact or s I nf l uenci ng Expor t Pot ent i al

of a Devel opi ng Count r y SMEs: A st udy
of Col ombi an Fi r ms
Fact or es que i nf l uenci an el pot enci al expor t ador
de l a Pyme en un pas en vas de desar r ol l o:
un est udi o de l as empr esas col ombi anas.
Facul t ad de Admi ni st r aci n
Uni ver si dad de l os Andes
Management Gal l eys
9771900 160002 0 1
ISSN 1900-1606
The scarce participation of SMEs in exports produces interest in developing and promoting
them. SMEs exports promotion is of special need and interest in developing countries
where SMEs knowledge is low and where their development rebounds in many social and
economic positive consequences. Within this context, this study constructs a model that
identifies potential exporters among Colombian manufacturer SMEs. A comparison
between the exporting companies (in their years prior to export) and non-exporting
companies (that had no plans to export for the next three years) forms the basis of this
study. Empirical representative evidence was obtained through 151 companies of the
Colombian small manufacturing population. The results suggest that the participation in
training and export support programs has a strong positive relation to the firm's export
potential. The increase in sales by a company outside its local area and the increase in its
assets before exporting demonstrate a greater capacity for international expansion.
Colombian SMEs showed that their knowledge increases as a result of experience in the
markets, export intention and commitment with the international operation. According to
these results, managerial and policy maker implications are explored.
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Luz Mar i na Fer r o, assi st ant pr of essor ; Dani el l a Laur ei r o, i nst r uct or ;
Al ej andr a Mar n, i nst r uct or ; Jos Mi guel Ospi na, assi st ant pr of essor
and Vi cent e Pi ni l l a, f ul l pr of essor.
10
Las polticas y programas de apoyo a las pymes son particularmente importantes en los
pases en desarrollo donde el conocimiento sobre estas empresas es mnimo y donde el
desarrollo de las mismas tiene un enorme impacto social y econmico. La participacin de
las pymes en la economa es de reconocida importancia en trminos de generacin de
empleo, pero su participacin en las exportaciones es muy baja. En este contexto, el
presente estudio construye un modelo que permite identificar a los exportadores
potenciales dentro de la poblacin de pymes manufactureras en Colombia. El modelo se
basa en la comparacin de las pymes exportadoras (en los aos previos a iniciar la actividad
exportadora) con las pymes no exportadoras (que no tienen planes de exportar en los
prximos tres aos). El estudio obtuvo evidencia emprica basado en una muestra
representativa de 151 pymes manufactureras en las cinco principales ciudades de
Colombia.
Los resultados del estudio sugieren que la participacin en los programas de promocin a
las exportaciones tiene una relacin positiva con el potencial exportador. El crecimiento en
las ventas de la empresa fuera de la ciudad en la que sta se encuentra demuestra una
mayor capacidad de expansin internacional. Lo mismo sucede con el crecimiento en el
valor de los activos. Adicionalmente, el estudio encontr que las pymes colombianas
aumentan su conocimiento como resultado de la experiencia en los mercados, su intencin
exportadora y el compromiso con la operacin internacional. El artculo presenta el marco
terico del estudio, la metodologa del mismo, los principales hallazgos y una discusin
sobre las implicaciones de los resultados para las instituciones y las empresas.
x > c 0 1
Luz Mar i na Fer r o
Dani el l a Laur ei r o
Al ej andr a Mar n
Mi guel Ospi na
Vi cent e Pi ni l l a
Mara Lorena Gutirrez Botero
Decana
Facultad de Administracin
Universidad de los Andes
Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones
Fernando Cepda Ulloa
Enrique Cullar Cubides
Carlos Dvila L. de Guevara
Manuel Rodrguez Becerra
Elvira Salgado Consuegra
Piedad Salgado Camacho
publicaciones@adm.uniandes.edu.co
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Bogot, Enero de 2007
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Administracin
Galeras de
Comit de Investigaciones Comit de Investigaciones Comit de Investigaciones Comit de Investigaciones Comit de Investigaciones
Francisco Azuero Ziga
Paula Durn Fernndez
Clemente Forero Pineda
Roberto Gutirrez Poveda
Daniella Laureiro Martnez
Andrs Robledo Anzola
cominves@adm.uniandes.edu.co
Con esta serie de documentos de tra-
bajo se pretende difundir los resulta-
dos de investigaciones que estn en
proceso de elaboracin. Busca estimu-
lar el intercambio deideas y contribuir
a un dilogo que enriquezca el resul-
tado final de la investigacin. En tales
artculos sereflejan solamentelos pun-
tos devista desu autor y pueden citar-
se conforme a las reglas acadmicas.
This series of working papers presents
the results of ongoing research. It
intends to stimulate the exchange of
ideas and contribute to dialogue that
may improve the quality of research.
These documents solely reflect the
point of view of the author and may
be cited in accordance to academic
rules.
Administracin
Galeras de
1
A Model of Guarantees under High Moral Hazard
Un modelo de garantas bajo condiciones de
alto riesgo moral
Rafael J. Bautista-Mena, profesor asociado
Facultad de Administracin, Universidad de los Andes
Mayo de 2005
2
Vulnerabilidades dela economa colombiana:
Un examen delos balances sectoriales
Colombian Economy Vulnerabilities: A
Balance-sheet Approach
Francisco Azuero Ziga, profesor asociado
Junio de 2005
3
TheImpact of Stronger Intellectual Property
Rights on Scienceand Technologyin Developing
Countries
El impacto del fortalecimiento de los derechos de
propiedad intelectual sobre la ciencia y la tecnologa
de los pases en desarrollo
Clemente Forero-Pineda
Agosto de 2005
4
Fundamentos ticos deuna poltica desolidaridad
Ethical foundations of solidarity policies
Luis Enrique Orozco Silva
Septiembre de 2005
6
Changeand Organizational Demography:
TheCaseof 30 Colombian Companies
Cambio y Demografa Organizacional:
el caso de 30 empresas Colombianas
Jaime Ruiz-Gutierrez
Noviembre de 2005
5
Dinmicas detransformacin dela educacin
superior en Colombia
Dynamics of change in Colombia higher education
Noviembre de 2005
7
Scenarios for theFutureof Research in
Developing Countries
Escenarios de Futuro para la investigacin
en los Paises en desarrollo
Diciembre de 2005
8
Organizational cultureand sustainabilityin
Turbulent environments. Insights froma case-
studyof a largemining MNC in a Latin America
country
Cultura organizacional y sostenibilidad en entornos
turbulentos.
Reflexiones a partir de un estudio de caso en
profundidad de una empresa minera en Colombia.
Jos Camilo Dvila
Marzo de 2006
9
La tutela yla provisin dela salud en Colombia.
Una explicacin institucional.
The use of the judicial mechanismin health
provision in Colombia: an institutional perspective.
Francisco Azuero Zuiga
Noviembre de 2006
10
Factors Influencing Export Potential of a Developing
CountrySMEs: A studyof Colombian Firms
Factores que influencian el potencial exportador de la
Pyme en un pas en vas de desarrollo: un estudio de las
empresas colombianas.
Luz Marina Ferro, Daniella Laureiro, Alejandra Marn,
Jos Miguel Ospina and Vicente Pinilla
Enero de 2007
1
Abstract
The scarce participation of SMEs in exports pro-
duces interest in developing and promoting them.
SMEs exports promotion is of special need and
interest in developing countries where SMEs
knowledge is low and where their development
rebounds in many social and economic positive
consequences. Within this context, this study
constructs a model that identifies potential exporters
among Colombian manufacturer SMEs. A
comparison between the exporting companies (in
their years prior to export) and non-exporting
companies (that had no plans to export for the next
three years) forms the basis of this study. Empirical
representative evidence was obtained through 151
companies of the Colombian small manufacturing
population. The results suggest that the
participation in training and export support
programs has a strong positive relation to the firm's
export potential. The increase in sales by a company
outside its local area and the increase in its assets
before exporting demonstrate a greater capacity for
international expansion. Colombian SMEs showed
that their knowledge increases as a result of
experience in the markets, export intention and
commitment with the international operation.
According to these results, managerial and policy
maker implications are explored.
Minimum three key words:
Export potential, Export intention, Developing
countries, Pre export stages, SMEs
Topic of Small Business Research the
manuscript addresses:
1. Small Business Strategy
2. Internationalization Entrepreneurship
Factors influencing export potential of
a developing country SMEs: a study of
colombian firms.
Luz Marina Ferro, assistant professor; Daniella
Laureiro, instructor; Alejandra Marn, instructor;
Jos Miguel Ospina, assistant professor and
Vicente Pinilla, full professor.
Factores que influencian el potencial
exportador de la Pyme en un pas en
vas de desarrollo: un estudio de las
Resumen
Las polticas y programas de apoyo a las pymes son
particularmente importantes en los pases en desarro-
llo donde el conocimiento sobre estas empresas es
mnimo y donde el desarrollo de las mismas tiene un
enorme impacto social y econmico. La participacin
de las pymes en la economa es de reconocida impor-
tancia en trminos de generacin de empleo, pero su
participacin en las exportaciones es muy baja. En este
contexto, el presente estudio construye un modelo que
permite identificar a los exportadores potenciales den-
tro de la poblacin de pymes manufactureras en Co-
lombia. El modelo se basa en la comparacin de las
pymes exportadoras (en los aos previos a iniciar la
actividad exportadora) con las pymes no exportadoras
(que no tienen planes de exportar en los prximos tres
aos). El estudio obtuvo evidencia emprica basado en
una muestra representativa de 151 pymes manufactu-
reras en las cinco principales ciudades de Colombia.
Los resultados del estudio sugieren que la participa-
cin en los programas de promocin a las exportacio-
nes tiene una relacin positiva con el potencial
exportador. El crecimiento en las ventas de la empresa
fuera de la ciudad en la que sta se encuentra demues-
tra una mayor capacidad de expansin internacional.
Lo mismo sucede con el crecimiento en el valor de los
activos. Adicionalmente, el estudio encontr que las
pymes colombianas aumentan su conocimiento como
resultado de la experiencia en los mercados, su inten-
cin exportadora y el compromiso con la operacin
internacional. El artculo presenta el marco terico del
estudio, la metodologa del mismo, los principales
hallazgos y una discusin sobre las implicaciones de
los resultados para las instituciones y las empresas.
Palabras claves:
Potencial exportador, intencin exportadora, pases
en desarrollo, etapas pre exportadoras, pymes
2 Factors Influencing Export Potential of a Developing Country SMEs: A study of Colombian Firms
Country SMEs: A study of Colombian Firms
The phenomenon of globalization has affected in
different ways the markets and economies over the
world; Latin American countries and other less
developed countries being no exception. For example,
in Latin America during the economic integration
processes started in the nineties manufacturing exports
increased almost 13 percent (between 1995 and 2000,
WTO 2003). However, the broad picture for Latin-
American Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
in international markets is one of low-level of
involvement, since at best, they export 15 percent on
average (Moori et al., 2001).
This situation demands more attention since SMEs
incorporation in the international markets is extremely
important not only because SMEs create and support the
majority of jobs in these countries (two-thirds of
employments and 95 percent of manufacturing firms) but
also because their internationalization rebounds in greater
generation of foreign currency, employment and income,
and improves SMEs productivity as they enter new markets
(OCDE, 2005). Internationalization fosters these
companies' permanence and growth, both domestically
and internationally, factors that are particularly important
for developing countries (Czinkota and Wesley, 1983;
Lefebvre and Lefebvre, 2001; OECD, 2004).
In this context, the participation of Colombian SMEs in
international markets is not very different from that of
other countries. Colombia is the fifth largest economy
in Latin America (IMEDE (Institut) et al., 2005). In 2005,
it had a population of 41 million and an annual income
per capita of US$ 2,130. In 2003, SMEs contributed to
11 percent of Colombia's total non-traditional exports,
far below the 30 percent average that the Organization
for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
remarked as a low average for its countries (OECD, 2004).
The scarce participation of SMEs in exports produces
interest in developing and promoting them. This
concern is expressed in studies that recognize the
peculiarities of these organizations and the limitations
of internationalization theories to explain and support
SMEs internationalization processes and strategies
(Etemad, 2004).
The purpose of the present research is to construct a
model that identifies potential exporters among
Colombian manufacturer SMEs. A comparison
between the exporting companies (in their years prior
to export) and non-exporting companies (that had
no plans to export for the next three years) forms the
basis of this study. The results of this comparison are
used to construct the model.
This article begins with a review of the literature about
export behavior, especially among SMEs; this review
helps us in formulating our hypotheses. Subsequently,
we obtain the variables that provide significant differences
between the two groups of companies according to
export intention and export experience. With these va-
riables, two methodologies are used to test if it is possible
to build a predictive model for export potential (logistic
regression and classification trees). Then, we develop
two models that in most cases correctly classify the firms
between potential and non potential exporters. Finally,
we explore managerial and policy maker implications.
Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
Interest in studying SMEs
1
with regard to
internationalization has grown in recent decades (Fillis,
2001; Etemad, 2004; Allali, 2005), although we have
found very few studies that analyze these companies
in the pre-export stages (Wiedersheim-Paul et al.,
1978; Yang et al., 1992). Between 1990 and 2005
ABI/INFORM Global
2
recorded 466 works in
scientific magazines and newspapers that were related
to internationalization or entrepreneurship; this
1 There are two research streams - one quantitative and the other qualitative - that academics and governments use for SMEs ( Julien
1997). In Colombia, the legal definition of a small SME (Law 905 of 2004) reflects the quantitative method: the level of assets and the
number of fixed employees. As of 2005 small businesses were those with assets between $191 and $1,908 million and between 11 and
50 employees. Medium-sized businesses have up to $11,450 millions in assets and up to 250 employees. The law does not distinguish
according to sector. "Within industrial Colombian SMEs there are 1,958 medium businesses and 8,414 small businesses" (DANE 2001).
2 Search using key words "SME" or "small business" or "entrepreneurship" and "internationalization" or "internationalization" or
"entrepreneurship".
3
number represented 82 percent of the studies
catalogued on the subject since 1974. This great
dynamism is consistent with the emphasis on
internationalization and market globalization since the
nineties and with the recognition of the SMEs
importance in the economic and social development
of their respective countries (Kuwayama, 2001).
Yang, Leone, and Alden (1992) developed a model
for predicting the export potential of manufacturer
SMEs in the United States. They integrated numerous
variables identified in the literature as descriptive of
export behavior and they used export intention as the
dependent variable. This model classified the
companies into those with and without export
intention and validated the results in a sample of
exporting companies.
Despite the arguable relevance of these results, the
scientific literature appears to lack studies that provide
models for predicting export potential in developing
countries. At the methodological level, procedures and
samples of the studies that we analyzed did not
provide sufficient arguments to generalize their results
(Javalgi et al., 2000). Additionally, few studies had
longitudinal designs (Yang et al., 1992) and no studies
have conclusions for developing countries.
Based on the findings of Yang, Leone, and Alden (1992),
and on the literature reviewed, we design a model for
the Colombian case that predicts potential exporters
overcoming previous identified limitations. The export
potential of SMEs in this study is defined as the capacity
that a non-exporting or occasional exporter has to export
in the future on a regular basis, in other words to become
a regular exporter. Export potential is inferred from the
performance of the company in certain internal and
external variables that can influence its future export
behavior. These variables take into account the company's
behavior in previous years, in the current year and the
managers' perceptions about export activities.
Our dependent variable is export potential and our
predictor variables are several organizational variables
and managers' beliefs about exports that we will
explain further. We take into account the evolution of
the exporting companies in the three years prior to
their first exportation. For the non-exporting
companies we assume that export intention is a
measure of export potential (Yang et al., 1992; Morgan
and Katsikeas, 1997). Therefore, the research focuses
on the differences between the two extreme groups in
the sample: the exporting companies in the years
preceding the first exportation and the non-exporters
that have no current export intention.
1. Dependent variable: export potential
According to the literature (Gankema et al., 2000)
companies can be classified into different types of
exporters. However, some of these articles recognize that
it is possible to aggregate some of these types; for example
non exporters and occasional or the intermittent exporters
behave similarly and companies with high level of
involvement in international activities (theexport/sales ratio
varies from 10-39 percent (Gankema et al., 2000)) but
relatively new in these markets, exhibit similar attitudes
toward exporting than regular exporters. With this
information and because binary models were used to
construct our model, this research used a dichotomous
variable that divides companies into two groups: exporters
and non-exporters without export intention. First, to
classify companies as exporters we took into account the
number of years exporting (at least two years continually
exporting) and the participation of the exports as part of
total income (more than five percent).
In addition to export experience, we considered export
intention for the non-exporting group. Export intention
relates to the vision that the manager has about the
company in the future (Filion, 1991). Some researchers
(Yang et al., 1992; Andersen and Rynning, 1994; Morgan
and Katsikeas, 1997; Gankema et al., 2000) focus on the
study of export intention based on the concrete export
plans of management dividing non-exporting companies
into those with export intention and those without it, and
comparing them with current exporters that already have
demonstrated their export intention. (Allali, 2005) confirm
that there is a positive relationship between the existence
of an exporting vision and the exporting behavior.
Therefore, excluding companies with export intention
from the analysis seeks to clarify distinctions between the
two groups of companies. Thus, in this research we only
included non-exporting companies without export
intention. (See the description of the dependent variable)
2. Independent variables
The construction of an integral model for estimating
export potential must consider other causal
relationships between export behavior and a
company's internal and external variables that were
not included in the study of Yang, Leone, and Alden
(1992) (for example decision maker profile). In our
investigation these variables are grouped in four
categories (see appendix one).
a. Category One: Company Characteristics. Many
investigations have sought to determine whether size
is an obstacle to export (Bonaccorsi, 1992; Yang et
al., 1992; Calof, 1994; Lefebvre and Lefebvre, 2001).
The conclusions of these studies do not show a
consensus among the authors. Some affirm that the
size of the company influences the tendency to export:
in other words, larger companies have more export
capacity than small enterprises (Burton and
Schiegelmich, 1987; Mittelstaedt et al., 2003).
Nevertheless, some studies conclude that size does
not represent an obstacle to export (Czinkota and
Wesley, 1983; Ali and Swiercz, 1991), and that there
is no relationship between exporting intensity
(exports/sales) and size of the firm (Bonaccorsi, 1992).
Calof (1994) concludes that size does not indicate
the propensity to export although it could affect the
number of international markets the company would
serve. To analyze the size's effect on export propensity
in the Colombian case, we took different size
measurements such as number of employees, value
of assets and sales. We sought to prove if there is a
correlation between size and export activities in the
Colombian case.
The second variable in this group was the age of the
company. Some authors link the age of the firm with
export activity in the view that internationalization is
a learning process that requires time and preparation
(Bilkey, 1976; Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). Later
studies conclude that the greater the age, the greater
the exporting tendency of the business (Javalgi et al.,
2000). Nevertheless, more recent studies have found
that the age of the firm does not influence its exporting
activity, but it does acquire importance in the growth
of exports in later stages. This shows that a firm's
experience could facilitate international growth (Moen
and Servais, 2002). The effects of globalization are
among the justifications supporting the early
internationalization of companies (Oviatt and
McDougall, 1994; Moen and Servais, 2002). Despite
these justifications, for the Colombian case we wanted
to prove whether there is a relation between age and
export potential. Based on the foregoing: Hypothesis
one: a company's export potential is related to its size.
Hypothesis two: a company's export potential is
related to its age.
b. Category Two: Decision Maker. Julien (2000) states
that micro, small and medium sized businesses
personalize and centralize power in management. The
propensity for international activity is no exception.
Some researchers (Louter et al., 1991; Burpitt and
Rondinelli, 2000) have asserted that management's
attitudes and commitment regarding international
activities are critical variables in a firm's export
propensity. Significant differences show up frequently
in the perception of barriers on the part of non-
exporting and exporting managers, the former tending
to perceive greater barriers compared to the latter
(Bilkey, 1976; Ali and Swiercz, 1991; Leonidou,
1995; Pett and Wolff, 2003). Studies divide the types
of decision makers' perceived barriers into internal
and external with respect to the firm: internal being
related to the organization's resources and external
with its environment (Leonidou, 1995; Campbell,
1996; Leonidou, 2004).
In addition to the manager's perceptions, his level of
education, age, abilities in foreign languages and time
spent in foreign countries can all influence the
company's exporting behavior (Bilkey, 1976;
Wiedersheim-Paul et al., 1978; Burton and
Schiegelmich, 1987; Ali and Swiercz, 1991; Louter
et al., 1991; Andersen and Rynning, 1994).
Apparently, some of these variables also have greater
or less prevalence depending on the company's stage
in the internationalization process.
Finally, a manager's cosmopolitanism evidently exerts
an influence on a company's export propensity. This
cosmopolitanism encompasses formal and informal
relations that the manager cultivates (Holmlund and
5
Kock, 1998; Coviello and McAuley, 1999; Ellis and
Pecotich, 2001). These relationships are by their nature
business networks (formal relationships that sometimes
are derived from the value chain to which the company
belongs or from participation in training programs)
and social networks (relationships arising from infor-
mal interchange among individuals, based on
confidence engendered by the social capital among
companies) (Holmlund and Kock, 1998). Therefore:
Hypothesis three: a company's export potential has an
inverse relationship to its manager's perceptions of
export barriers. Hypothesis four: a company's export
potential depends on its manager's demographic
profile. Hypothesis five: a company's export potential
depends on its manager's contact networks.
c. Category Three: Past Expansion Behavior. Empirical
research in previous studies has asserted that positive
changes in domestic market coverage influence
companies' preparation for export activity
(Wiedersheim-Paul et al., 1978; Burton and
Schiegelmich, 1987; Yang et al., 1992; Andersen and
Rynning, 1994). This process of expansion is a form
of "domestic internationalization" (Wiedersheim-Paul
et al., 1978) in which the firm becomes oriented to
overcoming barriers in its domestic environment. Past
expansion behavior takes into account domestic
market coverage, changes in the size of the firm and
modifications in the property structure (Yang et al.,
1992; Laureiro and Marin, 2004). Hypothesis six:
export potential is positively related to past expansion
behavior.
d.Category four: Competitive capacity. A firm's
competitive capacities, viewed as competitive
advantages, positively relate to the export behavior of
companies (Louter et al., 1991; Mehran and Moini,
1999). Sources of competitive advantage are: an
efficient distribution system, management availability,
technological capacity, breadth in the product and
service lines and a strategic market mix (Burton and
Schiegelmich, 1987; Louter et al., 1991; Yang et al.,
1992; Mehran and Moini, 1999). One of the
competitive factors identified as a determinant when
undertaking export activities is innovation in products
and services (Yang et al., 1992; Atuahene-Gima,
1995). A study by Moori et al. (2006) about
Colombian exporting firms found that most of the
companies which initiated export activities had
undertaken a number of adaptive and improvement
measures to compete in the international market. These
focused on product, design and service improvement,
marketing and commercialization. Consequently,
hypothesis seven: a company's export potential is
positively related to its competitive capacities.
As shown in graphic one, the companies fell into
two groups: exporters (black), non-exporters without
intention (white). Data from non-exporters with export
intention were not included in the analysis because,
as explained, having export intention could translate
in the future into having export potential. To discover
which variables accounted for differences in export
potential, we compared exporters (black) with non-
exporters without export intention (white) in the four
dimensions previously described: characteristics,
decision maker, past expansion behavior, and
competitive capacities. Graphic one. Conceptual
model.
Methodology
Our study focused on Colombian SMEs more than
three years old
3
in those sectors where the shares of
SMEs in total production and in total exports of each
manufacturing sector were significant (See appendix
two). Additionally, we only selected those companies
that had not begun to export before 1991. The study
sought to be regionally representative. To select the
cities to study, we took into account regional
distribution of SMEs and the participation of each city
in total Colombian exports. We included the cities of
Medellin, Barranquilla, Cali, Bucaramanga and Bogota.
Also, we wanted to be representative of the most
important manufacturing sectors of SMEs in Bogota.
We chose eight manufacturing sectors: 1)tanning and
dressing of leather and manufacture of leather products,
2)manufacture of rubber and plastics products, 3)ma-
nufacture of apparel, 4)manufacture of food products
and beverages, 5)manufacture of fabricated metal
products and manufacture of machinery, 6)publishing,
printing and reproduction of recorded media, 7)ma-
nufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork,
8)manufacture of chemicals and chemical products.
3 Since the rate of disappearance of newly created firms in developing countries is high (between 50 percent and 75 percent in the first
three years), firms with less than three years of existence were excluded. (Marcelo and Echevarra 1999 ).
In Colombia as in many other developing countries
information about SMEs is very scarce, so we had to
group various databases together and we obtained a
total universe of 4,168 establishments with more than
three years doing business, classified as SMEs; of
these, 1,940 were classified as manufacturing
companies. A stratified random procedure was used
in the five largest cities in Colombia to select the firms
for the study from 1,940 small to midsized businesses.
We defined a quantity of surveys in each city with an
unrestrictive random sample method. Sector
stratification was applied only in Bogota where 50
percent of SMEs are located (Rodrguez, 2003).
We designed two types of questionnaires: one for
companies with export experience and one for
companies without export experience. The surveys
were answered by the manager and required specific
information from different sources within the
company (the financial and production areas). Field
work began with a pilot test with the two
questionnaires and lasted for seven months. A total
of 182 surveys came back, the margin of error is 6.91
percent and the response rate 18 percent. Similar
studies have had lower or equal response rates (15
percent in the case of Dhanaraj and Beamish (2003),
17 percent in Pett and Wolf (2003) and 19 percent in
the case of Kalantaridis (2004)).
Descriptive results
In our sample, 49.7 percent of firms are located in
the capital city Bogota, 17.2 percent in Cali, 16.6
percent in Medellin, 8.6 percent in Bucaramanga and
7.9 percent in Barranquilla. These percentages are
approximated to the national location of the SMEs.
By sector, 22.5 percent are apparel companies, 22.0
percent are metal products and machinery companies
and 12.6 percent are food products and beverages
companies. The mean year of opening is 1987, with
average years in business of 16.50 (s.d. 11.73 years).
In 66.91 percent of the companies there is a family
group that controls more than 51 percent of the equity.
In 62.09 percent of the firms the current manager was
the founder of the firm.
Of the 182 manufacturing companies, 68.83 percent
(118 firms) were classified as non-exporters and 35.16
percent (64 firms) as exporters with an average export/
sales ratio of 27.85 percent. The major destinations
for exports were NAFTA countries, accounting for 49.1
percent, followed by the Andean Community, CAN
(31.6 percent), Central America (12.8 percent) and
Europe (5.9 percent). Only 0.1 percent of the exports
went to Mercosur, and 0.4 percent of the exports go
to other countries. These percentages are similar to
those in a study about the profile of the Colombian
exporter SMEs made by FUNDES (Moori et al., 2006)
in which - for 2003- NAFTA was the main destination.
Variables that Define Export Potential
1.Dependent Variable: Export Potential.
Initially the firms were divided into two groups:
exporters and non-exporters. Next, we divided non-
exporters into companies with export intention and
companies without intention. For this purpose, we
asked non-exporters about their export expectations
over the coming years in terms of: (1) the percentage
of participation expected from foreign sales as part of
total sales, (2) the countries to which they plan to
export and (3) the distribution channels they should
employ to gain access to these new markets. Thirty-
one companies (26.3 percent) precisely answered these
questions, showing they have a concrete export
intention; the remaining 87 (73.7 percent) were
classified without intention or vision to export and
were included as such in subsequent analysis. A total
of 151 firms were included in the construction of the
model (with a margin of error of 7.66 percent). From
these, 87 (57.6 percent) were non-exporting
companies with no export intention and 64 (42.4
percent) exporting companies qualified. Consequently,
a dichotomous variable emerged to classify the
companies into two categories: with export potential
(EP) and without export potential (NEP).
2. Independent variables
Using ANOVA and CHI-SQUARE tests, we identified
those variables that showed significant differences
between the two types of companies previously
identified (EP and NEP).
a. Company Characteristics. Variables such as size by
number of assets (p=0.01), number of employees
(p=0.002) and sales (p=0.008) differentiated the
companies according to their export potential.
Companies with export potential had more years in
business (although not significant p=0.635) and
7
greater size before exporting, supporting the theory
that companies internationalize gradually (Johanson
and Vahlne, 1977). These results show that
hypothesis one is proven: export potential is
positively related to the size of the company.
Hypothesis two was not proven: it was not possible
to conclude about the relation between the age of the
company and the export propensity.
b. Decision Maker. The manager's data was used to
test three hypotheses:
1. Management's perceptions about exporting. Several
items representing perceived export barriers were
identified from the literature review (Bilkey, 1976;
Ali and Swiercz, 1991; Yang et al., 1992;
Leonidou, 1995; Campbell, 1996; Pett and Wolff,
2003; Leonidou, 2004). After this review process,
26 items were selected for the two questionnaires.
These variables were operationalized through
interval scales, taking values between one and five
(five being the most relevant) as in Yang, Alden,
and Leone (1992). These variables fell into two
groups: internal and external barriers (Leonidou,
1995; Campbell, 1996; Leonidou, 2004). For
each group we performed a factorial analysis with
varimax rotation, using the criterion of suitable
values greater than one.
For the group of 17 internal barriers, five factors explained
the 62.046 percent variance. These were: (1)
management resources; (2) financial resources; (3)
strategy for entering international markets with
emphasis on price; (4) product competitiveness; and
(5) market information (see table one). To obtain
the score in each of the resulting factors we calculated
the arithmetic average of the variables belonging to
each factor. Three of the five factors provided
significant differences between the EP and NEP firms:
(1) aspects related to management resources
(p=0.032); (2) market resources (p=0.046) and (3)
international strategies for entering markets
(p=0.028). In the three cases, the EP firms perceived
fewer barriers to export (see table three). Table one.
Factorial analysis of internal barriers.
In the group of nine external barriers two factors
explained 59.72 percent of the variance: (1)
logistical control, and (2) tariff and non-tariff
barriers (see table two). As Table three illustrates,
the logistical control factor (p=0.018) and the tariff
and non-tariff barriers factors (p=0,065) provided
significant differences between the companies
according to the export potential type. The results
supported the conclusion proposed in hypothesis
three: the greater the international experience the
smaller the perception of risks in export activity.
Table two. Factorial analysis of external barriers
2. Demographic profile: there were no statistically
significant differences between decision maker's
demographic variables and the export potential.
Thus we can not conclude about the validation of
hypothesis four.
3. Contact networks. The fact that the manager had
family roots in foreign countries provided
significant differences according to the type of export
potential (p=0.066). These family ties are one of
the components of the personal networks or infor-
mal contact (Julien et al., 2006). Also, we asked
the firms whether or not they had participated in
training and export support programs (binary va-
riable). This program was organized by the
Colombian public agency that promotes exports.
The participating SMEs worked with regional
universities which provided support for the
development of the firm's export plan. Our results
showed that participating in that training and export
support programs have a strong positive relation
to whether the company exports (p=0.000)
(Carrier, 1999). While most of the exporters
participated in such program (88.9 percent), a
significant percentage of non-exporters (54.2
percent) have participated in it as well. Therefore,
hypothesis five was proven: export potential
depends on the contact network of the company's
manager (Ellis and Pecotich, 2001). The
participation in this kind of training programs is a
necessary condition that might give the company
the possibility to establish formal and informal
relationships, which combined with other factors
stimulate the company's internationalization.
c. Past Expansion Behavior. One of the major
differences between the two questionnaires was that
we asked exporters about their performance in the
national market in the years preceding the first
exportation. To measure the changes in the size of the
company, we also asked in the exporters' questionnaire
for the sales, assets and the number of employees in
the year 2003, in the year of their first exportation
and in the two years previous to that first exportation.
From the non-exporters we requested data for the years
2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. This was one of the
sections where we had the most missing data
4
. With
these changes we calculated an average. The average
of the variations in the amount of assets was the only
variable that showed significant differences among the
companies according to their export potential
(p=0.01), indicating that the companies with
exporting experience showed greater growth in assets
prior to exporting. This is a result that can be
compared with what Moori et al. (2006) found:
exporters presented higher positive changes in their
size indicators than non-successful exporters.
Although they did not use that variable to predict
export potential, they also found significant
differences in sales and size of work force.
To measure domestic market coverage we asked the
firms' percentage of sales concentrated in the local
market (the region surrounding the company's princi-
pal office). This variable could be of particular interest
for the Colombian context because this country is
characterized for having high concentration in distant
urban centers. There are five such urban centers and
on average it takes 15 hours to travel among them.
The results showed that prior to exporting the EP
companies concentrated a smaller proportion of their
sales in the local market, in comparison to the NEP
companies (p=0.093). This shows that companies
that exhibit major national sales coverage have market
expansion abilities and therefore are more prepared
to assume international activities than those who
concentrate their sales locally. Our results show that
hypothesis six is proven: export potential is positively
related to the expansion capacity of the company.
d. CompetitiveCapacities. The EP companies showed
greater competitive capabilities in comparison with the
NEP companies. The former had developed a higher
number of products prior to export (p=0.059); more
frequently had a marketing department (p=0.092) and
had better training of marketing staff in marketing related
aspects (p=0.049) and in foreign languages (p=0.004).
This reinforces the idea of Moori et al. (2006): successful
exporters have stronger commercial competence than
non-successful exporters. The EP companies showed
less need for training in foreign business prior to
exporting than the non-exporting companies in 2003
(p=0.003). Thus, hypothesis 7 was confirmed: export
potential is positively related to the company's
competitive capacities.
Generally, of the seven hypotheses five were assessed
and confirmed. Thus, the export potential of SMEs
relates to the size of the company; the management's
networks and its perception of barriers to exporting;
the expansion ability of the company; the number of
new products; having a marketing department; mar-
keting staff with better training in languages and in
marketing and better training in subjects related to
exports.
Export Potential Model
We employed two techniques to operationalize the
predictive model of export potential: logistical
regression and CHAID classification trees.
1. Logistical Regression Model
5
Because our primary objective was to identify potential
exporters based on a comparison between two groups
of firms (EP and NEP), a logistic regression model was
adopted. In the model, the independent variables were
those that showed significant differences between EP
and NEP companies without intention, and that were
unrelated to each other. Since three variables related to
the size of the firm showed a positive correlation (sa-
les, assets and employees), only sales
6
was part of the
modeling process. Consequently, fifteen of the
seventeen variables that showed significant differences
complied with these conditions and were involved in
the construction of the model (see table three).
The resulting model included only five significant
variables besides the independent term: sales level,
assets variation, percentage of local sales, marketing
staff knowledge of foreign languages, and whether or
4 Three strategies compensated for the missing data: (1) to contact the companies again to request this information; (2) when the
company did not respond we decided to fill the missing information with available data from previous years (Yang et al., 1992); where
these two strategies did not work we used the sales value of each company to proportionally complete the information.
5 In this type of model, Pi is established as the probability that the i-th company exports in the following year. This probability meets the
following formula: b0+b1*Xi,1+b2*Xi,2+.........+bkXi,k = ln [Pi/(1-Pi)]
6 We chose the sales variable -instead employees or assets- since we believe it better represents the market size of the company.
9
not the company had participated in training and
export support program (see table four). With these
variables, the R2 of Nagelkerke was acceptable (0.325)
but lower than in similar studies (in Yang, Leone,
and Alden (1992) it was 0.498). Table four. Varia-
bles in the final equation (step 11).
The model that resulted correctly classified the 81.5
percent of the NEP companies and 64.5 percent of
the EP companies. Globally it correctly classified
74.1percent of the companies. These percentages are
similar to those found in Yang, Leone and Alden
(1992) study (80 percent of the cases were correctly
classified). All the coefficients had the expected sign.
We used the omnibus test in order to measure how
well the model performs. The p-value, for the model
in the last step was 0.0000 which was lower than the
critical value of 0.01. Thus, the model was statistically
significant. (See table five) Table five: Omnibus Test
of Model Coefficients
2. CHAID Classification Tree
Alternatively, with the same 15 identified variables we
performed a classification method of trees called CHAID
(Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector). This
method yielded a series of criteria that separate the EP
from the NEP firms (see graphic three and its explanation):
The tree graphic correctly classified 87.7 percent of
the non-exporting companies and 53.2 percent of the
exporting companies. Globally it correctly classified
72.72 percent of the companies. For the exporters,
the tree was not a good predictor since it led to wrong
classifications in almost half of the cases. Graphic
three. Classification tree.
The same variables that resulted in the logistical
regression method were obtained in the classification
tree (except for the percentage of local sales that was
present in the regression and not in the tree). As in
previous studies, both models do a better job in
classifying non-exporter firms (Yang et al., 1992).
Discussion
Even when this was a first approach to identify
potential exporters in a developing country, the main
contribution of this study is to propose and validate
two models that serve in estimating the export
potential of small manufacturing companies in a
developing country. Though literature has not
deepened on the study of pre-export stages and the
identification of potential exporters in developing
countries, we used different variables to figure out a
methodology that worked on prioritizing the varia-
bles that give export potential to non-exporter firms
in our particular context.
Based on empirical evidence obtained through 151
representative companies of the Colombian small
manufacturing population, we validated two models
that combine five variables that specifically affect a
firms export potential. Two of the five variables that
were included in the regression model and the decision
tree (marketing staff knowledge of foreign languages
and participation in training and export support
programs) were new among the reviewed studies that
constructed a model for SME in pre-export stages
(Wiedersheim-Paul et al., 1978; Yang et al., 1992;
Caughey and Chetty, 1994). From the models we can
conclude that it is more common for a medium-sized
company to export than for a small company. The
participation in training and export support programs
has a strong positive relation to the firms export
potential. This variable not only reflects the importance
of the managers networks on acquiring information,
but also the need to stimulate the interaction among
the firms, the universities and the institutions that
promote entrepreneurial development. The increase
in sales by a company outside its local area and the
increase in its assets before exporting demonstrate a
greater capacity for international expansion(Yang et al.,
1992). In our case, Colombian SMEs showed that
their knowledge increases as a result of experience in
the markets, export intention and commitment with
the international operation. This agrees with the models
of incremental learning (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977)
and with the idea of domestic internationalization
(Wiedersheim-Paul et al., 1978; Caughey and Chetty,
1994). The marketing competitive capacities reflected
in having marketing staff with knowledge of foreign
languages influence the companies export potential.
We emphasize the importance that the knowledge of a
foreign language has, particularly in developing
countries where it helps in lowering many cultural
barriers and becomes a key support for international
marketing activities.
Another major contribution of our study is the
identification of 17 variables that discriminate potential
exporters from non potential exporters. Besides
participation in training and export support programs,
we found the managers familiar networks in foreign
countries which appear to facilitate the beginning of
export activities(Ellis and Pecotich, 2001). The
perception of internal and external barriers concerning
international activities has a negative relationship to
export potential. Some of these subjective variables
acquire particular importance in developing countries
where for example the firms usually have a precarious
logistical control. In summary, each one of the four
pre-defined categories has an implication in the export
potential.
Among the 17 variables, there were five competitive
capacities related to the market orientation of the firm
(see table six). These variables reflected the high
importance of innovation, of having a marketing
department and of having marketing staff with
knowledge of market subjects and foreign languages.
Also, having a stronger market orientation diminishes
the barriers perception. Though only five of the 17
variables resulted in the regression model and four of
them in the decision tree, we believe that all the 17
variables indicate important issues that must take into
account to improve a firms export potential.
Since information about SMEs is particularly scarce
in developing countries, the last contribution of our
study is having a representative sample which results
might be generalized with a low error level (7.66%).
Managerial and policy maker implications
Although no list can be assembled which
recommendations will lead inexorably to export
activities, alternatively and based on the proofs of all
the stated hypotheses, there is a set of basic
characteristics that to a great degree are exhibited by
those engaged in exports (see table six). This research
can serve as a guide for institutions that work to
promote the growth of exports among SMEs. These
institutions can have greater clarity on specific areas
of the firms that need strengthening in order to achieve
consolidation in the domestic market. Also, the
models described before can serve as a tool in targeting
non-exporter firms for export support.
Companies must be aware of the variables identified
in our study. A firms major consciousness about the
importance of the strengthening of these variables can
facilitate the internationalization of the firm (Julian,
2003)
Limitations and future works
The conclusions of our study are limited to the SMEs
population in the five main cities in Colombia and in
the eight manufacturing sectors. It was not possible
to do inferences by sectors neither by regions. The
lack of secondary information about the expansion
behavior of the companies over time (one of the most
relevant difficulties in a developing country) hampered
the field work. Institutions that seek to support the
development of SMEs must work on the creation of
updated data bases with information from the
companies over time; also, it is necessary to work in
the organization of the data in each one of the
companies to access precise and reliable information.
This is particularly necessary in developing countries
such as Colombia. The identification in this study of
the 17 variables could serve as a guide to collect this
information.
Future research on this subject could focus on making
an analysis of these results over time to monitor the
model here obtained. The foregoing requires better
data bases and an open entrepreneurial culture to give
exact information. Another option for future research
could be to deepen the analysis of variables such as
the market orientation level of the companies, their
innovative capacity and the competitiveness of
management resources in developing countries. Also
recommended is more in-depth analysis of specific
sectors within the manufacturing sector and in those
sub-sectors of exportable services. Table six.
Conclusions regarding the variables that define export
potential in Colombian SMEs.
11
Graphic 1. Methodology framework
Table 1. Factorial analysis of internal barriers.
Table 2. Factorial analysis of external barriers
Table 3. Variables that show significant differences according to export potential
13
*The new products categorical variable was obtained according to the sector's average of new products. The firms in the 4th category are those in the higher 25percent, those in the 3rd category
developed a number of new products that are among the highest 50-75percent compared to their sector, and so on.
Table 4. Variables in final equation (step 11).
Table 5: Omnibus Test of Model Coefficients
Graphic 2. Classification tree.
Explanation of the tree (see graphic 2):
1) Companies with high knowledge of foreign languages (marketing staff self-evaluated as two or three); with
sales before exporting
1
higher than $182 thousand dollars and that have participated in training and export
support programs would have a greater probability of exporting (Probability (P=0.767).
2) Companies with low knowledge of foreign languages (marketing staff self-evaluated as one) and a change in
the assets lower than or equal to 14.41percent would have a greater probability of not exporting (P=0.926).
3) Companies with medium or high knowledge of foreign languages (marketing staff self-evaluated as two or
three) and with sales before exporting lower than $182 thousand dollars would have a greater probability of not
exporting (P=0.778).
4) Companies with low knowledge of foreign languages (marketing staff self-evaluated as one) and a change in
the assets higher than 14.41 percent would have a greater probability of not exporting (P=0.594).
5) Companies with medium or high knowledge of foreign languages (marketing staff self-evaluated as two or
three) and with sales in 2003 higher than $182 thousand dollars that have not participated in training and export
support programs would have a greater probability of not exporting (P=0.565).
1 For NEP firms we used 2003 sales, and for the EP firms we used sales in year before they started exporting.
15
Table 6. Conclusions regarding the variables that define export potential in Colombian SMEs
*p<0.01, **p<0.05 , ***p<0.1
Appendix 1: Main authors in each of the internationalization literature dimensions
Appendix 2: Selection criteria
* Source: Authors calculations with figures taken from DNP 2003
** Source: Authors calculations with figures taken from DANE 2002
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Morgan, R., and Katsikeas, C. (1997). Export Stimuli:
Export Intention Compared with Export Activity.
International Business Review, 6(5), 477-499.
OCDE. (2005). Perspectives del'OCDE sur les PME et
l'entrepreneuriat 2005: Organisation de coopration
et de dveloppement conomique.
OECD. (2004). Promoting Entrepreneurship and
InnovativeSMEs in a Global Economy Towards a More
Responsibleand InclusiveGlobalization. Paper presented
at the Second OECD Conference of Ministers
Responsible for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,
Istanbul, Turqua.
Oviatt, B. M., and McDougall, P. P. (1994). Toward a
Theory of International New Ventures. Journal of
International Business Studies, 21(1), 45-64.
Pett, T. L., and Wolff, J. A. (2003). Firm characteristics
and managerial perceptions of NAFTA: An assessment
of export implications for USSMEs. Journal of Small
Business Management, 41(2), 117-132.
Rodrguez, A. (2003). La realidad de la PYME co-
lombiana, desafo para el desarrollo. Bogota: FUN-
DES.
Wiedersheim-Paul, F., Olson, H. C., and Welch, L. S.
(1978). Pre-export activity: the first step in
internationalization. Journal of International Business
Studies, 9(1), 45-58.
Yang, Y. S., Leone, R. P., and Alden, D. L. (1992).
A Market Expansion Ability Approach to Identify
Potential Exporters. Journal of Marketing, 56(1), 84-
96.
19
Este nmero de la serie
se termin de imprimir en Enero de 2007.
El texto est compuesto en fuente
Berkeley Book 11 puntos.
Impresin y diagramacin: Guas de Impresin.
Mara Lorena Gutirrez Botero
Decana
Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones Comit de Publicaciones
Fernando Cepda Ulloa
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publicaciones@adm.uniandes.edu.co
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cominves@adm.uniandes.edu.co
Con esta serie de documentos de tra-
bajo se pretende difundir los resulta-
dos de investigaciones que estn en
proceso de elaboracin. Busca estimu-
lar el intercambio deideas y contribuir
a un dilogo que enriquezca el resul-
tado final de la investigacin. En tales
artculos sereflejan solamentelos pun-
tos devista desu autor y pueden citar-
se conforme a las reglas acadmicas.
This series of working papers presents
the results of ongoing research. It
intends to stimulate the exchange of
ideas and contribute to dialogue that
may improve the quality of research.
These documents solely reflect the
point of view of the author and may
be cited in accordance to academic
rules.
Administracin
Galeras de
1
A Model of Guarantees under High Moral Hazard
Un modelo de garantas bajo condiciones de
alto riesgo moral
Rafael J. Bautista-Mena, profesor asociado
Mayo de 2005
2
Vulnerabilidades dela economa colombiana:
Un examen delos balances sectoriales
Colombian Economy Vulnerabilities: A
Balance-sheet Approach
Francisco Azuero Ziga, profesor asociado
Junio de 2005
3
TheImpact of Stronger Intellectual Property
Rights on Scienceand Technologyin Developing
Countries
El impacto del fortalecimiento de los derechos de
propiedad intelectual sobre la ciencia y la tecnologa
de los pases en desarrollo
Agosto de 2005
4
Fundamentos ticos deuna poltica desolidaridad
Ethical foundations of solidarity policies
Septiembre de 2005
6
Changeand Organizational Demography:
TheCaseof 30 Colombian Companies
Cambio y Demografa Organizacional:
el caso de 30 empresas Colombianas
Jaime Ruiz-Gutierrez
Noviembre de 2005
5
Dinmicas detransformacin dela educacin
superior en Colombia
Dynamics of change in Colombia higher education
Noviembre de 2005
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Scenarios for theFutureof Research in
Developing Countries
Escenarios de Futuro para la investigacin
en los Paises en desarrollo
Diciembre de 2005
8
Organizational cultureand sustainabilityin
Turbulent environments. Insights froma case-
studyof a largemining MNC in a Latin America
country
Cultura organizacional y sostenibilidad en entornos
turbulentos.
Reflexiones a partir de un estudio de caso en
profundidad de una empresa minera en Colombia.
Jos Camilo Dvila
Marzo de 2006
9
La tutela yla provisin dela salud en Colombia.
Una explicacin institucional.
The use of the judicial mechanismin health
provision in Colombia: an institutional perspective.
Francisco Azuero Zuiga
Noviembre de 2006
10
CountrySMEs: A studyof Colombian Firms
Factores que influencian el potencial exportador de la
Pyme en un pas en vas de desarrollo: un estudio de las
Luz Marina Ferro, Daniella Laureiro, Alejandra Marn,
Jos Miguel Ospina and Vicente Pinilla
Enero de 2007
Facul t ad de Admi ni st r aci n
Uni ver si dad de l os Andes
Management Gal l eys
9771900 160002 0 1
ISSN 1900-1606
The scarce participation of SMEs in exports produces interest in developing and promoting
them. SMEs exports promotion is of special need and interest in developing countries
where SMEs knowledge is low and where their development rebounds in many social and
economic positive consequences. Within this context, this study constructs a model that
identifies potential exporters among Colombian manufacturer SMEs. A comparison
between the exporting companies (in their years prior to export) and non-exporting
companies (that had no plans to export for the next three years) forms the basis of this
study. Empirical representative evidence was obtained through 151 companies of the
Colombian small manufacturing population. The results suggest that the participation in
training and export support programs has a strong positive relation to the firm's export
potential. The increase in sales by a company outside its local area and the increase in its
assets before exporting demonstrate a greater capacity for international expansion.
Colombian SMEs showed that their knowledge increases as a result of experience in the
markets, export intention and commitment with the international operation. According to
these results, managerial and policy maker implications are explored.
10
e
n
e
r
o

d
e

2
0
0
7
Luz Mar i na Fer r o, assi st ant pr of essor ; Dani el l a Laur ei r o, i nst r uct or ;
Al ej andr a Mar n, i nst r uct or ; Jos Mi guel Ospi na, assi st ant pr of essor
and Vi cent e Pi ni l l a, f ul l pr of essor.
10
Las polticas y programas de apoyo a las pymes son particularmente importantes en los
pases en desarrollo donde el conocimiento sobre estas empresas es mnimo y donde el
desarrollo de las mismas tiene un enorme impacto social y econmico. La participacin de
las pymes en la economa es de reconocida importancia en trminos de generacin de
empleo, pero su participacin en las exportaciones es muy baja. En este contexto, el
presente estudio construye un modelo que permite identificar a los exportadores
potenciales dentro de la poblacin de pymes manufactureras en Colombia. El modelo se
basa en la comparacin de las pymes exportadoras (en los aos previos a iniciar la actividad
exportadora) con las pymes no exportadoras (que no tienen planes de exportar en los
prximos tres aos). El estudio obtuvo evidencia emprica basado en una muestra
representativa de 151 pymes manufactureras en las cinco principales ciudades de
Colombia.
Los resultados del estudio sugieren que la participacin en los programas de promocin a
las exportaciones tiene una relacin positiva con el potencial exportador. El crecimiento en
las ventas de la empresa fuera de la ciudad en la que sta se encuentra demuestra una
mayor capacidad de expansin internacional. Lo mismo sucede con el crecimiento en el
valor de los activos. Adicionalmente, el estudio encontr que las pymes colombianas
aumentan su conocimiento como resultado de la experiencia en los mercados, su intencin
exportadora y el compromiso con la operacin internacional. El artculo presenta el marco
terico del estudio, la metodologa del mismo, los principales hallazgos y una discusin
sobre las implicaciones de los resultados para las instituciones y las empresas.
x > c 0 1
Luz Mar i na Fer r o
Dani el l a Laur ei r o
Al ej andr a Mar n
Mi guel Ospi na
Vi cent e Pi ni l l a

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