Sui Sui and Horatio M. Morgan
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can improve their export performance by co-locating with export firms from the same industry and country. However, the export implications are yet to be addressed systematically. This study investigates when and how women-owned SMEs convert their geographic proximity to home peers through social proximity and cognitive proximity into high export intensity. We develop a nuanced knowledge spillover perspective incorporating gender mechanisms to clarify the relationship between home peers and SMEs’ export intensity at the regional and national levels. To test our hypotheses, we designed quantitative research using a survey database from Statistics Canada, Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SFGSME), with a sample of 9,977 Canadian SMEs. Our study shows that, among other things, home peers’ positive impact on SMEs’ export intensity is more significant when their owners are exposed to a larger number of relatively close same-gender home peers (i.e., same-gender regional home peers). Moreover, we show that such positive home-peer effects on SMEs’ export intensity are even stronger for women business owners than men business owners. We clarify our contributions by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our findings. By demonstrating the significance of same-gender regional home peers for women owners, we contribute to the knowledge spillover perspective on exporting, emerging research streams on home peers, and women entrepreneurship research in the international entrepreneurship field. Our findings also suggest that women entrepreneurs can particularly benefit from government-funded export promotion programs when the programs are appropriately designed and promoted to women entrepreneurs.Sui Sui and Horatio M. MorganSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can improve their export performance by co-locating with export firms from the same industry and country. However, the export implications are yet to be addressed systematically. This study investigates when and how women-owned SMEs convert their geographic proximity to home peers through social proximity and cognitive proximity into high export intensity. We develop a nuanced knowledge spillover perspective incorporating gender mechanisms to clarify the relationship between home peers and SMEs’ export intensity at the regional and national levels. To test our hypotheses, we designed quantitative research using a survey database from Statistics Canada, Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SFGSME), with a sample of 9,977 Canadian SMEs. Our study shows that, among other things, home peers’ positive impact on SMEs’ export intensity is more significant when their owners are exposed to a larger number of relatively close same-gender home peers (i.e., same-gender regional home peers). Moreover, we show that such positive home-peer effects on SMEs’ export intensity are even stronger for women business owners than men business owners. We clarify our contributions by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our findings. By demonstrating the significance of same-gender regional home peers for women owners, we contribute to the knowledge spillover perspective on exporting, emerging research streams on home peers, and women entrepreneurship research in the international entrepreneurship field. Our findings also suggest that women entrepreneurs can particularly benefit from government-funded export promotion programs when the programs are appropriately designed and promoted to women entrepreneurs. Read More
Related posts:
Direct or Indirect Exporting? The Joint Influence of Gender and Immigration Background on Export Strategies of Canadian SMEs
Gendered crisis approach: Exploring the gendered impact of Iranian sanctions on nascent entrepreneurship outcomes
The critical role of assertiveness of women business owners in the link between firm performance and family instrumental support
Policy Challenges and Opportunities: Migrant Female Entrepreneurs in Northern Europe
Breaking Boundaries: A Study on the Innovative Network Strategies of Canadian SMEs Expanding into Unfamiliar Markets
Linking Developing Country Firms’ Relational Capital to Their Export Performance in Global Value Chains: The Moderating Role of Technological Turbulence