How to Improve Export Promotion towards SMEs, with focus on Information provision and Network of main actors.

Abstract

The main goals of Export Promotion are to contribute to overall economic improvement of a country, and the subsequent increase for the standard of the living of the population. This can be achieved through the increase of total merchandise sold abroad and the diversification of the structure of goods and services exported, not only in terms of products, but also in terms of economic activities and markets. Moreover, these general aims are in turn related to the deployment of specific resources, an increase in the overall development level of the country in terms of production techniques and management methods, etc. of the national businesses environment. So, these goals can be achieved, but they are of a rather difficult nature, specifically for Small Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) as they lack many of the crucial types of resources. Export Promotion Programs (EPPs) are one way to enable SMEs to reach the mentioned objectives by assisting and supporting them to cope with those restraints. Furthermore, there are two factors crucial for EPPs. The first one Information provision, as a strategic tool, is an export service for coping with special requirements that might arise from the internationalization process. The second one, the Network of main actors is the structural arrangement that brings together all the related agents, which translate and canalize the export services of a country's EPP. Both factors are interdependent and must be optimal as well as efficient in order to have a successful EPP and allow the SMEs to go abroad. Consequently, this Thesis studies How to Improve Export Promotion towards SMEs in the mentioned matters, by creating a norm from two case studies (The British and Swedish EPPs), applicable to any EPP. Nonetheless, this is also realized with the assistance of three theoretical approaches (Internationalization of SMEs, Information Collection Theory, and Theory for the Export Promotion Network).