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Supporting SMEs to Become Successful Exporters through Good Exporting Practices in Argentina
Last registered on November 20, 2018
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information
General Information
Title
Supporting SMEs to Become Successful Exporters through Good Exporting Practices in Argentina
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002784
Initial registration date
March 27, 2018
Last updated
November 20, 2018 9:11 AM EST
Location(s)
Country
Argentina
Region
Primary Investigator
Name
Santiago Llamas
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator
Other Primary Investigator(s)
Additional Trial Information
Status
On going
Start date
2017-01-02
End date
2020-09-30
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Firms, SMEs, Trade, Export, Exporting Practices, Food & Drinks, RCT
JEL code(s)
D22, F14, H32, L25, L38, O24
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The Good Exporting Practices program in Argentina aims to increase the success in the foreign markets of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through supporting better practices in 7 core areas: i) strategy, ii) identification and segmentation of markets, iii) design and adaptation of the product, iv) production, v) communication, vi) distribution, and vii) administration. The Good Exporting Practices program targets firms that produce differentiated food products in various geographical regions in Argentina. This evaluation aims to implement a randomly controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate an innovative export program based on provision of: i) information about current export business practices relative to good practices through an in-depth diagnostic; ii) provision of a specific support through consultant to fill the gaps identified by the diagnostic. This impact evaluation seeks to address the question of whether the adoption of good exporting practices leads to better export performance. The evidence from this evaluation will be crucial to export promotion agencies, but also to Governments interested in supporting the diversification of their economies and promoting the entry of SMEs into export markets.
External Link(s)
Registration Citation
Citation
Llamas, Santiago. 2018. "Supporting SMEs to Become Successful Exporters through Good Exporting Practices in Argentina." AEA RCT Registry. November 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2784-3.0.
Former Citation
Llamas, Santiago. 2018. "Supporting SMEs to Become Successful Exporters through Good Exporting Practices in Argentina." AEA RCT Registry. November 20. http://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2784/history/37598.
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details
Interventions
Intervention(s)
The two interventions or treatments are:
i) An evaluation (referred to as “diagnostic”) of the firm’s management practices oriented towards entering foreign markets. This includes analyzing 7 areas of practices: i) strategy, ii) identification and segmentation of markets, iii) design and adaptation of the product, iv) production, v) communication, vi) distribution, and vii) administration. The diagnostic will be performed by specialists in export promotion, commercialization, design, quality, and strategy. The specialist will spend approximately a month studying the firm part-time to assess whether the management practices oriented towards entering foreign markets are sufficient to develop an exporting business model. The results of the diagnostic will be informed to the firms once finished.
ii) Out of the firms that receive the diagnostic, a sub-group will be randomly selected to receive another intervention (referred to as “technical assistance”). The technical assistance consists on a training program designed to inform and assist firms on implementation of important factors that play a significant part on successfully exporting, such as international standards of quality and information on relevant markets. The diagnostic will be performed by specialists in export promotion, commercialization, design, quality, and strategy. The specialist will spend six months assisting the firm part-time to asses whether the management practices oriented towards entering foreign markets are sufficient to develop an exporting business model.

The number of firms that expressed interest in participating in the program is 213. Every firm will receive the diagnostic and a sub-group will be randomly selected to receive the technical assistance as well. This leaves us with two groups: first, a group that receives the diagnostic but does not receive technical assistance, and second, a group that receives both the diagnostic and technical assistance.
Intervention Start Date
2018-04-03
Intervention End Date
2018-12-21
Primary Outcomes
Primary Outcomes (end points)
The evaluation aims at estimating the impact on multiple outcomes:
1. Adoption of export practices.
2. Increase in export performance.
3. Profits.
4. Overall sales.
5. Productivity.
6. Employment.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Secondary Outcomes
Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Experimental Design
Experimental Design
To identify the differential effect of technical assistance, we randomly assigned technical assistance among all firms (recall that every firm receives the diagnostic).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer. The randomization was performed in front of public notary and all firms were invited.
Randomization Unit
Firms
Was the treatment clustered?
No
Experiment Characteristics
Sample size: planned number of clusters
213 firms
Sample size: planned number of observations
213 firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
107 firms with technical assistance, 106 firms without technical assistance
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS (IRBs)
IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial
Post Trial Information
Study Withdrawal
Intervention
Is the intervention completed?
No
Is data collection complete?
Data Publication
Data Publication
Is public data available?
No
Program Files
Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials
Relevant Paper(s)
REPORTS & OTHER MATERIALS