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Deciding to export: An exploratory study of Singaporean entrepreneurs

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Abstract

This paper confirms a mapping between a taxonomy of entrepreneurs and what triggered Singaporeans to become exporters. The study involved interviews with 47 new exporters based in Singapore. Entrepreneurs were classified as either ‘opportunity seeking’ or ‘reactive’. Export triggers were either ‘pull’, negative ‘push’, or positive ‘push’. We find that those who were opportunity seeking at start-up were more likely to have responded to export ‘pull’ forces. It was rare indeed for a reactive founder to have been ‘pulled’ into exporting. Among this group of entrepreneurs, ‘push’ forces dominated the decision to export. The paper concludes with some implications for policy targeting and suggestions for further research.

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Acknowledgement

The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of the four blind reviewers and the editor to the development of this paper. All the usual disclaimers apply.

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Correspondence to Leo Paul Dana.

Appendix 1

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Table 3 Framework summary

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Dana, L.P., Hamilton, R.T. & Wick, K. Deciding to export: An exploratory study of Singaporean entrepreneurs. J Int Entrep 7, 79–87 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-008-0032-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-008-0032-8

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