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ICT as facilitator of internationalisation in small- and medium-sized firms

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Abstract

Based on harmonised and uniquely linked firm-level datasets for a large group of European countries, this study investigates the role of different information and communication technology (ICT) capacities in the internationalisation of small- and medium-sized firms (defined as having 10–249 employees). Both the decision to export and the export intensity are explored in this respect. The different ICT capacities are captured by online presence (having a website), online transactions (e-sales activities) and proportion of employees with broadband internet access or post-upper secondary ICT education. The results show a significant and positive relationship between the ICT capacities and the engagement in exporting activities of small- and medium-sized firms, although the kind of ICT capacity of importance seems to vary across countries. In countries where the ICT usage in firms is less developed, mainly basic capacities such as online presence are related to the decision to export. There are also indications that the export intensity is more strongly related to advanced ICT capacities than the pure decision to export.

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Fig. 1

Source: ESSLait micro moments database

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Notes

  1. Fourteen European countries participated in the ESSLait project. Twelve of these (Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom) were able to merge trade data with production statistics.

  2. More information about the methodology for accessing the microdata and build-up of the micro-aggregated dataset is available in Bartelsman, Hagsten and Polder (2013).

  3. www.euklems.net and www.wiod.org.

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Acknowledgments

Data for this study were prepared within the frame of the ESSLait project (Eurostat Grant Agreement number 50721.2013.001-2013.082). Part of the analytical work served as background information to the European Competitiveness report 2014 (Framework service contract N° ENTR/2009/033).

Special thanks go to Eric Bartelsman, Martin Falk and Heinz Hollenstein for support and helpful suggestions during the course of work. The authors are also grateful for insightful comments by two anonymous referees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Statistics Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden

    Eva Hagsten

  2. University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Patricia Kotnik

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  1. Eva Hagsten
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  2. Patricia Kotnik
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Correspondence to Eva Hagsten.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 5 and 6.

Table 5 Variable description and sources
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Table 6 Correlation matrix ICT variables.
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Hagsten, E., Kotnik, P. ICT as facilitator of internationalisation in small- and medium-sized firms. Small Bus Econ 48, 431–446 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9781-2

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