Developing competitive advantages: Successful export SMEs in Argentina, Chile and Colombia

Abstract

This article analyses the specialization patterns of export SMES in Argentina, Chile and Colombia in the 2001-2004 period with a view to identifying the factors that influence the level of success achieved by such companies. To this end, an indicator of export success is applied to the universe of export SMES in the three countries and two groups of agents are differentiated: the successful and the unsuccessful. These factors are identified using information from surveys applied to some 300 export SMES (both successful and unsuccessful) in the countries studied, covering trade, production, technology and the institutional environment. This study compares the relative situation of these countries and analyses the potential contribution their successful export SMES can make to modifying their exportable goods baskets.