Capacity Building as a Route to Export Market Expansion : A Six-Country Experiment in the Western Balkans / Cusolito Ana P

By: Contributor(s): Resource type: Ressourcentyp: Buch (Online)Book (Online)Language: English Publisher: Washington, D.C : The World Bank, 2022Description: 1 Online-Ressource (33 pages)Subject(s): Additional physical formats: Erscheint auch als: Capacity Building as a Route to Export Market Expansion: A Six-Country Experiment in the Western Balkans. Druck-Ausgabe Washington, D.C. : The World Bank, 2023DOI: DOI: 10.1596/1813-9450-10256Online resources: Summary: The limited market size of many small emerging economies is a key constraint to the growth of innovative small and medium enterprises. Exporting offers a potential solution, but firms may struggle to locate and appeal to foreign buyers. A six-country randomized experiment was conducted with 225 firms in the Western Balkans to test the effectiveness of 30 hours of live group-based training and 5 hours of one-on-one remote consulting in overcoming these constraints. Treated firms used techniques such as search engine optimization and improved Facebook content to increase their digital presence and better reach foreign customers. A year later, positive and significant impacts are found on the number of customers, and a significant intensive margin increase in export sales. Qualitative interviews suggest this improvement came from a combination of sector-specific advice on market expansion, and through an encouragement effect which gave entrepreneurs the confidence to try new sales strategiesPPN: PPN: 1837814422Package identifier: Produktsigel: ZDB-1-WBA | ZDB-110-WBL | ZDB-110-WBO