Supporting SMEs to Become Successful Exporters through Good Exporting Practices in Argentina

Last registered on May 24, 2022

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

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

March 29, 2018, 6:54 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated

May 24, 2022, 10:19 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country

Argentina

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Santiago Llamas

Affiliation

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Juan Carlos Hallak

PI Affiliation

CONICET-UBA

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Martin Rossi

PI Affiliation

Universidad de San Andrés

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Leonardo Iacovone

PI Affiliation

World Bank

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2017-01-02

End date

2022-11-30

Keywords

Finance & Microfinance, Firms & Productivity

Additional Keywords

Firms, SMEs, Trade, Export, Exporting Practices, Food & Drinks, RCT

JEL code(s)

D22, F14, H32, L25, L38, O24

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

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

Hallak, Juan Carlos et al. 2022. "Supporting SMEs to Become Successful Exporters through Good Exporting Practices in Argentina." AEA RCT Registry. May 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2784-6.0

Former Citation

Hallak, Juan Carlos et al. 2022. "Supporting SMEs to Become Successful Exporters through Good Exporting Practices in Argentina." AEA RCT Registry. May 24. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2784/history/144592

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

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?