The effect of public export incentives on Italian textile and fashion SMEs

Public export incentives are common instruments used to promote firms' internationalization. The article provides an empirical analysis of their relevance to Italian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the textile and fashion industry. Results show that public economic and financial incentives stimulate firms without any internationalization experience to enter foreign markets. Nevertheless SMEs can only fully benefit from these programs when they satisfy some pre-conditions. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Public export incentives are common instruments used to promote firms' internationalization. The article provides an empirical analysis of their relevance to Italian small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the textile and fashion industry. Results show that public economic and financial incentives stimulate firms that have no internationalization experience to enter foreign markets. Nevertheless, SMEs can fully benefit from these programs only if they satisfy some prerequisites. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. © 2014 M.E. Sharpe, Inc.