Early Internationalization Patterns and Export Market Persistence: The influence of human capital across sectors

This study evaluates the international market persistence of early exporting businesses.

Guest speaker: Professor Yancy Vaillant of Toulouse Business School

The relationship between time in the market and export propensity/intensity levels was analyzed to identify the persistence of the internationalization patterns of entrepreneurial ventures. The empirical application employs a pseudo-panel approach at the business age- and industry-based cohort level drawn from a group of independent cross- sectional surveys that include information for 13,961 independently and randomly selected business owners for the period 2007–2012. The results show that the proportion of firms that export significantly diminishes following the initial post start-up years and that low export intensity levels at start-up leads to greatest tenacity and persistence of the exporting efforts for new firms. We further expand this study by analyzing the influence of the entrepreneurs’ human capital indicators (formal education achievements and prior entrepreneurial experience) over the export market persistence of early exporting businesses, distinguishing manufacturers from service-based firms.

Refreshments are included.