foreign
countries. The
article provides new information on how the government of a small region, such
as the Basque Country, perform in relation to the internationalisation
policies.
Keywords: Business
internationalisation, public funding, internationalisation policies, Basque
Country.
1. INTRODUCTION
At present, the
countries consider their economy, enterprises and people internationalisation
as a key driver to achieve their competitiveness, welfare and regional
development (AZUA, 2010). Against this background, the progress of
internationalisation is probably the most relevant change experimented by the
Spanish economy in the second half of the twentieth century. The process has
taken place in different stages, driven by the adhesion to the Community
project in the eighties and consolidated after the introduction of the single
European currency (CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE CÁMARAS, 2007).
The European Union (EU)
has worked since its creation for the elimination of trade barriers between
member countries, which has led consider Europe as one of the most open markets
in the world. However, this openness face today new challenges, such as, the
priority access to emerging markets or the opportunities of the single market offers
to its members (GOBIERNO VASCO, 2014).
Also, despite the
recent and expected strong economic growth for most regions of the world,
Western countries, and especially the Europeans, are going through a prolonged
structural crisis. In recent years the recession has been remarkable for
entrepreneurs, and gradually, they have had to find alternatives to continue
developing their businesses. In this situation, one of the best solutions
identified has been the export of products and services; because the demand and
the prices that cannot be obtained within own borders are being looking at
other countries (ORTEGA, 2000).
However, even though
the benefits of putting on the market abroad are clear, there are obstacles
that end up having more or less importance, depending on the country of
destination (SÁNCHEZ, 2012). Thus, throughout this process, the policies to
support the internationalisation play an important role. Several studies have
proved that without the government support measures a substantial number of
enterprises have not succeeded in internationalisation process (EUROPEAN
COMMISSION, 2007; LAMBRECHT; PIRNAY, 2005). Most small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs), due to the lack of financial resources, time and skills
needed for internationalisation, need help to acquire the necessary competences
in order to compete successfully in the global market (OECD, 2009; EUROPEAN
COMMISSION, 2007).
In this way, the
Spanish public administration, aware of the process of economic and commercial
liberalisation which involved the creation of Single Market, began to enhance
the foreign activity of the Spanish companies in a more active manner from the
1987, through the "Plan of Export Promotion", which has evolved to
the present day (VILLARREAL, 2006).
As well, in the case of
the Basque Country, according to the plan of competitiveness developed by the
Basque Agency for Business Development SPRI
(SPRI, 2010), the internationalisation of enterprises has been one of the
strategic objectives of the Basque Government policies. In general, the process
of opening to the outside of the Basque economy has been understood from a
commercial perspective, promoting the creation of commercial and/or production
establishments abroad, the attraction of investment, the establishment of
foreign companies in the Basque Country or the technology transfer.
However, although there
are policies, programmes and instruments to make easier the process of
internationalisation of economies and to improve the external competitiveness
of enterprises, there is a scarcity of research studies that analyze the
relationship between the policies of internationalisation and the degree of
internationalisation achieved by a territory.
The resources that
society required to achieve economic and wellbeing development rates are not
factors that draw on pages of paper, but there are options about decision that
design the present and the future. In all cases, the countries that achieve
economic growth rates combined the opportunities offered by global markets with
strategies that mobilize the capacities of internal institutions (GURRUTXAGA,
2010).
In recent decades, in
the case of the Basque Country has been considerable effort by the government
to support the internationalisation of business and investment attraction.
There have been many policies pursued to promote internationalisation, as well
as the amount of public investment in this concept. But the scenery is
completely different to the revenues obtained from internationalisation; these
revenues are far from the amount invested or from the expenditure made (IREKIA,
2014).
However, it would be
incorrect to draw conclusions about the need, relevance and return of public
expenditure on internationalisation by looking solely and exclusively on the
relationship between revenues and expenditures; in this area the administration
should not be satisfied or unsatisfied if the amount of the equation were
simply positive or negative. After the investment in this area, the following
question needs to be raised to measure the degree of satisfaction: Have a
higher degree of business internationalisation achieved through the investment?
Therefore, the main
objective of the research is to analyze the relationship between public funding
for internationalisation and the results obtained in this field.
2. INTERNATIONALISATION VS. FOREIGN TRADE
Despite the increasing importance,
both in business and academia, of concepts such as internationalisation and
foreign trade, even today, there is some controversy about them. Therefore,
before proceeding with the present research work, it is considered appropriate
to define those terms and to analyze the relationship between them.
Thus, while foreign trade is an
ordinary exchange, usually products in exchange for money crossing a “border”
(BUSTILLO, 2000), the internationalisation of the enterprise means a lot more
than commercialize products and services abroad. In particular, the
internationalisation can be defined as a strategy for economic grow through
access to new geographic markets, in all domains of the business: sales,
purchases, financial aspects and knowledge, among others (DEPARTAMENTO DE INDUSTRIA,
INNOVACIÓN, COMERCIO Y TURISMO, 2010). Internationalisation means adapting the
processes and procedures of a company, so that the company can operate in
international markets in the same way as in the domestic market.
Nevertheless, foreign trade operations
are the evident feature of the business internationalisation. Thus, the
interest subjects of researchers, social agents and public institutions are
focused on knowing the causes and the conditions of the external balance of
goods and services (CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE CÁMARAS, 2007).
3. INTERNATIONALISATION POLICIES PROMOTED IN THE BASQUE
COUNTRY
In recent decades, in the Basque
Country, there have been many public efforts to support business
internationalisation and attracting investment; efforts that have contributed
to convert the Basque Country in an open economy. Different institutions have
wanted to help Basque companies to find their competitive space in the global
economy, their "place in the world", considering the differences in the
size and the stage of internationalisation of the companies (GOBIERNO VASCO,
2014).
In order to address the challenging
task of internationalisation, the Basque public administration has combined
different actions to promote the internationalisation. Initial steps have been
made to become internationalisation an interest area back to 80s. Accordingly,
the creation of an external network of the SPRI, among others, was launched,
and it goes on to do its work at present. But, the first Strategic Plan of
Foreign Trade Promotion of Basque Enterprises 1993-1996 was the strong support
to business internationalisation (CASTILLO; PATÓN, 2010). After this first
specific plan, the different industrial policies have identified the
internationalisation as a strategic line to improve the competitive position of
the industrial company of the Basque Country through the access to new markets
and customers. For this reason, the development of different programmes has
allowed to support the initiation and consolidation of enterprises internationalisation,
to encourage the international vocation, to promote cooperation in the
international level and to train persons and organisations on the
internationalisation (see table 1).
Table 1: Internationalisation policies promoted
in the Basque Country
|
AIDS TO INTERNATIONALISATION FROM BASQUE GOVERNMENT
AND AUTONOMOUS AGENCIES, PUBLIC BODIES AND COMPANIES
|
|
INDUSTRIAL
AND COMPETITIVENESS POLICIES
|
SCIENTIFIC,
TECHNOLOGIC AND INNOVATION POLICIES
|
INTERNATIONALISATION
POLICIES
|
PROGRAMMES
|
|
Industrial Policy 1980-1990
|
Technology Strategic Plan (PET) 1990-1992
|
|
|
|
|
|
Economic Promotion Programmes 1980-1990
(SPRI)
Internationalisation 1981-1992
|
BASKEXPORT (1981-1987)
|
|
SOFAD (1982-1989)
|
|
RED EXTERIOR SPRI (1986-ACTIVE)
|
|
General Framework of Industrial Policy 1991-1995
|
Industrial Technology Plan (1993-1996)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Strategic Plan of Foreign Trade
Promotion of Basque Enterprises 1993-1996
|
GARAPEN (1992-1995)
|
|
PLAN DE INICIACION A LA EXPORTACION PIE
(1994- 1996)
|
|
General Framework of Industrial Policy 1996-1999
|
Science and Technology Plan (PCT) 1997-2000
|
|
|
|
|
|
Strategic Plan of Foreign Trade
Promotion of Basque Enterprises 1997-1999
|
INDOBASK (1995-1998)
|
|
PLAN DE INICIACIÓN A LA EXPORTACION
PIE-PIPE 2000) (2000-2004)
|
|
Interinstitutional Plan for the Economic Promotion (PIPE) 2000-2003
|
Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (PCTI) 2001-2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
Internationalisation Plan (PIPE)
2000-2004
|
PROGRAMA DE INTERNACIONALIZACIÓN
PROINTER (1998-2014) included in GLOBAL LEHIAN
|
|
PROGRAMA ATZERRI (2000-2009)
|
|
PROGRAMA ELKARTZEN (2000- ACTIVE)
|
|
GAUZATU IMPLANTACIONES EXTERIORES (2000-
ACTIVE)
|
|
Competitiveness Forum Basque
Country 2015/Competitiveness Strategic Basque Country 2015 (2003-2015)
|
|
|
|
|
Plan for Business Competitiveness and Social Innovation (PCEIS) 2006-2009
|
Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2007-2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
Internationalisation Plan
|
PLATAFORMAS EUSKARRI-BASQUE BUSINESS
PLATFORM (BBP) (2006- ACTIVE)
|
|
CONSULTBASQUE-DEVELOPMENT EXPERT
PLATFORM (2008-2009)
|
|
BASQUE SOFT-LANDING SERVICE (2009-2010)
|
|
PROGRAMAS DE BECAS PARA TITULADOS
EXTRANJEROS (2007-2010)
|
|
VENTANILLA UNICA DE INTERNACIONALIZACIÓN
– INTERSAREA (2001 - ACTIVE)
|
|
PROYECTOS INTERNACIONALES Y
MULTILATERALES (2007- ACTIVE)
|
|
REDES Y COOPERACIÓN (2008- ACTIVE)
|
|
DIFUSIÓN Y SENSIBILIZACIÓN (2006-
ACTIVE)
|
|
EUSKADI INTERGUNE: PUNTO DE ENCUENTRO
(2006- ACTIVE)
|
|
PROGRAMA DE BECAS DE
INTERNACIONALIZACIÓN (1994- ACTIVE)
|
|
APOYO A LA REFLEXIÓN ESTRATEGICA –
PROGRAMA INTERBIDE (2005-2009)
included in GLOBAL LEHIAN
|
|
Plan for Business Competitiveness 2010-2013
|
Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2015
|
|
|
|
Actions: Open Economy, promote
internationalisation
|
Strategic line: Science and Technology
System internationalisation
|
|
GLOBAL LEHIAN (replace PROINTER) (2014-
ACTIVE)
|
|
BECAS GLOBAL TRAINING (2012- ACTIVE)
|
|
INNOBIDEAK-LEHIABIDE – ACELERADOR DE LA
COMPETITIVIDAD DE LAS EMPRESAS EN ENTORNOS GLOBALES (2013- ACTIVE)
|
|
INVEST IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY (2011-
ACTIVE)
|
|
Industrialisation Plan 2014-2016
|
Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2020
|
|
|
|
Shaft Performance: increase the openness
to the outside of the Basque economy
|
Internationalisation Strategic Framework
2020: Euskadi Basque Country
|
Business Internationalisation Plan
2014-2016
|
INTERNATIONALISATION PROGRAM 2015
(Biscay)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: Álvarez et al., 2014.
Moreover, it is note that the last
Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (PCTI) 2015 (GOBIERNO VASCO, 2011)
marks a shift in the strategic lines related to internationalisation in order
to develop new forms of community relationships. For this, the objectives of
this plan are oriented to support the internationalisation of the SME and the
social economy and to promote the internationalisation of the Scientific and
Technological System as a whole which provides added value to productive fabric
and is internationally recognized.
Also the Business
Internationalisation Plan 2014-2016, promoted by the Basque Government, aims to
encourage the integration and the international competitiveness of Basque
companies, especially SMEs, in the global market. In that sense, the Plan
establishes a support framework adapted to the abilities and needs of SMEs in
the context of the current crisis, promoting the openness and
internationalisation of the Basque economy, strengthening and consolidating
foreign trade, contributing to increased Basque implantations abroad and
attracting foreign investment to the Basque Country.
4. THE EVOLUTION OF THE BUSINESS INTERNATIONALISATION IN
THE BASQUE COUNTRY
The external sector liberalisation
was an opportunity for businesses and a stability source in the economy as a
whole. But, from the statistical point of view, the liberalisation results in
an increased difficulty in capturing data that, previously, were collected
passively in the administrative records (SANZ, 2002). Therefore, it is
necessary to develop new indicators to analyze the behaviour of business
internationalisation in recent years in the Basque Country. Thus, Basque
Government's Plan for Business Competitiveness 2010-2013 and for Business
Internationalisation 2014-2016 have been taken as a reference to define
appropriate indicators (exports, degree of openness, exports over GDP, exports
to BRICs over GDP, foreign investment in the Basque Country and Basque
investments abroad over GDP, number of exporting firms, average exports per
firm) to study the evolution of business internationalisation in the Basque
Country.
The data obtained show, roughly,
that the Basque Country is a small region that has always been aware of the
need to open up to the world. However, the positive evolution of some major
indicators related to business internationalisation and economy openness were
truncated in 2009 due to the economic crisis.
Thus, the behaviour of foreign trade
in the Basque Country shows that the positive development, in exports and in
imports, was cut short in 2009 (see Figure 1). Furthermore, the degree of
openness of the Basque economy reaches its maximum in 2008 (59.5%), shortly
before the onset of the economic crisis (see Figure 2).
Figure 1: The evolution of good exports and imports in
the Basque Country. Source: Own elaboration based on EUSTAT, 2014a.
Figure 2: The evolution of the degree of openness in
the Basque Country. Source: Own elaboration based on EUSTAT, 2014a; EUSTAT,
2014b.
In the Figure 3, the evolution of
exports over GDP also shows that the upward trend of previous years is
truncated in 2009. However, from 2010 it returns to reclaim the positive trend.
If something is currently
characterizing the landscape of international market is the emergence in the
global economy of a number of emerging markets that are changing at a dizzying
rate the economic relations; being the most representative, because of its size
and importance, the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
In the case of the Basque Country
the evolution of exports to BRIC countries over GDP (see Figure 4) has not
followed a clear trend in the last two decades. However, also in this case, in
2009 the upward trend that was taking place in previous years is interrupted.
However, from 2010 the levels reached are higher than 2008 level.
Figure 3: The evolution of good exports over GDP.
Source: Own elaboration based on EUSTAT 2014a; EUSTAT, 2014b.
Figure 4: The evolution of good exports to BRIC
countries over GDP. Source: Own elaboration based on EUSTAT 2014a; EUSTAT,
2014b.
The analysis of foreign economic
relations of the Basque Country also requires the consideration of investment
relations with the outside. This is because, on the one hand, the foreign
direct investment has acquired such scale that it is impossible to understand
much of the current economic dynamics without its consideration; and on the
other hand, the foreign investment complements and accompanies the foreign
trade as a mechanism for inserting enterprises abroad (ZURBANO, 2006).
However, it is worth noting that the
evolution of foreign investment in the Basque Country over GDP and the
investments of the Basque Country abroad, show a cyclical behaviour (see Figure
5), being the investments in foreign countries always higher than the
investments of foreign countries. Regarding the atypical behaviour of 2007,
this is due to the purchase of Scottish Power (UK) by Iberdrola
and the purchase of Compass Bank (USA) by BBVA.
Figure 5: The evolution of foreign investment in the Basque Country and Basque
investments abroad over GDP. Source: Own elaboration based on DATAINVEX, 2014;
EUSTAT, 2014b.
Finally, figure 6 shows how the
number of exporting firms is growing rapidly since 2010. It is noted that due
to the phenomenon of globalization and to mitigate the worst effects of the
crisis, more and more Basque companies decide to export. However, due to more
and more small businesses decide to export, the trend in terms of average
exports of companies is the opposite (see Figure 7). Therefore, even though the
number of exporting firms has grown in recent years, as well has been observed
in previous graphs, the different indicators of foreign trade have not behaved
in the same way.
Figure 6: The evolution of the number of Basque exporting firms. Source: Own elaboration based on ICEX, 2014.
Figure 7: The evolution of the average exports of
Basque companies. Source: Own elaboration based on ICEX, 2014.
5. BUDGET FOR BUSINESS INTERNATIONALISATION IN THE BASQUE
COUNTRY
The budget for business
internationalisation in the Basque Country amounted to 22.5 M€ in 2014, 0.22%
of total budgeted expenditure of the Basque Government.
In this area has also noted the
effects of the crisis. Thus, the economic amount addressed to the
internationalisation reached its highest level in 2008 (see Figure 8) to fall
sharply in 2009. However, even though there was some fluctuation, the trend
observed in recent years is recovery. Also, this behaviour is very similar to
the evolution of expenditure destined to internationalisation over the total
budgeted expenditure in the Basque Country (see Figure 9).
Figure 8: The evolution of the budget for business
internationalisation in the Basque Country. Source: Own elaboration based on IREKIA, 2014.
Figure 9: The evolution of expenditure for business internationalisation
over total budgeted expenditure.
Source: Own elaboration based on IREKIA, 2014.
Finally it should be noted that most
of the expenditure is destined to the concept of "transfers and subsidies
current expenses" (see Figure 10).
Figure 10: The evolution of the different concepts of expenditure on business internationalisation
in the Basque Country. Source:
Own elaboration based on IREKIA, 2014.
6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This paper is the result of the
research work focused on the study of internationalisation policies relating
the foreign trade indicators and the budget allocated to it by the government
in the Basque Country. The Basque Country is a region located in northern Spain
and it shows a relatively high level of specialization in manufacturing.
Furthermore, the report made by European Commission related to Innovation Union
Scoreboard 2013 highlights that the Basque Country remains close to the group
of countries with high innovation, but 0.06 points below the EU-27 average
(EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 2013).
The objective of this research paper
is to analyse the relationships between the indicators which characterise
internationalisation and the budget expenditure devoted to internationalisation
by Basque public administration. To do this, new indicators have been developed
to analyse the behaviour of internationalisation. In this case, Basque
Government's Plan for Business Competitiveness 2010-2013 and Business
Internationalisation Plan 2014-2016 were taken as a reference to define the
studied indicators.
Moreover, in order to carry out the
research study, the necessary data has been obtained from four information
sources. On one hand, the Statistic Institute of Basque Country (Eustat),
Ministry of Industry and Trades and Ministry of Economy and Finance have
provided the historical series related to foreign trade in the Basque Country
for the period 2003-2013 (EUSTAT, 2014a; EUSTAT, 2014b; DATAINVEX, 2014; ICEX,
2014); and on the other hand, Basque Government has provided the historical
series related to the budget expenditure for business internationalisation in
the Basque Country.
After obtaining the data, the
estimation method used was a bivariate correlation analysis that will achieve
the target set in the investigation. Table 2 shows the summary of the variables
used.
Table 2: Variables analyzed
|
Years
|
|
v 2003-2013
|
|
Degree of
business internationalisation in the Basque Country
|
|
v Exports (thousand Euros)
v Exports / GDP (%)
v Exports (BRIC) / GDP (%)
v Degree of openness X+M / GDP (%)
v Foreign investment in the Basque Country
/ GDP (%)
v Basque investments abroad / DGP (%)
v Number of exporting firms
v Average exports per firm (thousand
Euros)
|
|
Budget
for business internationalisation in the Basque Country
|
|
v Total expenditure
- Transfers and subsidies
current expenses
- Increase of financial assets
- Personnel expenses
- Operating expenses
|
Source: Own
elaboration.
7. RESULTS
The relationship between public
funding for internationalisation and the results achieved in this area has been
analysed through a bivariate correlation analysis of the different variables
studied, precisely through the coefficient of Pearson (see Table 3).
According to the data, on the one
hand, total public expenditure on internationalisation is increasing over the
years (Pearson 0.879); and on the other hand, as the expenditure increases, so
do the following parameters: exports (Euros) (Pearson 0.853); the weight of
exports over GDP (Pearson 0.709), in general, and to the countries of the BRIC
(Pearson 0.868), in particular; and the number of exporting firms (Pearson
0.711).
Therefore, there is a direct
relationship between public funding and the quantity of goods exported, as well
as the importance of exports for economic development. Moreover, as was
highlighted above, the markets of the BRIC countries constitute the new playing
field for Basque companies, and the presence in these countries is directly
related to the financial effort made by the Basque government.
However, public expenditure does not
show direct relation with the degree of openness of the economy (Pearson
0.478), and neither with investment relations with the outside (Pearson -0.341
and Pearson -0.043). It must be emphasized that these parameters are important
for any country because, in general, the higher the degree of openness to the
outside and greater the investment relations with the outside economy, better
will be its performance (RODRÍGUEZ, 2012). Moreover, it must be emphasized that
in the case of the Basque Country there is not a positive relationship along
the time between the degree of openness of the economy (Pearson 0.439) and the
investment relations (Pearson -0.271 and Pearson -0.148).
Furthermore, although the number of
exporting firms increases as public spending increases, not so with the average
amount that these companies export (Euros) (Pearson -0.282). Also in this case,
as can be seen in table 3, with the increasing of the number of exporting firms
decrease the average exports per firm (Pearson -0.766). If this average
decrease of exports per firm would be accompanied by the overall decline in
exports, this could be related to weak demand.
But,
total exports increase, therefore, to go deeper into this issue, then it would
be appropriate to analyse what are the main features of these new Basque
exporters who break into the market: what is their size, what is their industry
activity, what markets they go, etc.
In the case of the different
concepts of the expenditure for business internationalisation in the Basque
Country, the highest level, by far, as well it has been studied in the chapter
5, is for "transfers and subsidies current expenses"; and in
addition, the influence of this concept on the results of internationalisation
is practically the same as in the case of total expenditure. The values of
Pearson coefficients are similar for both variables (Total_expenditure and Tr_sub).
The other budget concepts do not
show a direct relationship on the positive results related to
internationalisation. Concretely, the concepts "increase of financial
assets" and "personnel expenses" do not have relationship with
the parameters of internationalisation studied, and in the case of the concept
"operating expenses" there is an inverse relationship between this
expenditure and the results achieved in: exports (Euros) (Pearson -0.746); the
weight of exports over GDP (Pearson -0.604), in general, and to the countries
of the BRIC (Pearson -0.679), in particular; and the number of exporting firms
(Pearson -0.636). However, although this result is very striking, it should be
stressed that the “operating expenses” in 2014 have accounted only 1.6% of the
total expenditure for internationalisation (see figure 10).
8. CONCLUSIONS
The regions with more open economies
are those that have higher levels of wealth and welfare. Also, going outside is
not an option for a long time, but it has become a need that the level of
globalization reached by the world economy has imposed (SÁNCHEZ, 2012).
Thanks to early and continuing
commitment of Basque companies by foreign trade since the early 80s, which has
also been supported by the Basque government, the Basque Country is an open
economy, exporting in 2013 over 20,000 M€, equivalent to 31% of GDP. Moreover,
during the present economic crisis, exports are still the main driver of the
Basque economy; the internationalisation is the best guarantee to diversify
risk and improve the overall competitiveness of Basque companies (GOBIERNO
VASCO, 2014).
This research conclude that there is
a positive relationship between public funding for internationalisation and the
quantity exported by companies, and the importance of exports for the economic
development of a country. Thus, in coming years, the efforts that will expand
the export base and will strengthen the international perspective in business
strategy and management should be a priority for the Basque government and for
the public administration in general.
But, because the importance of
internationalisation for the future economic development of countries, and the
importance of the aids designated to internationalisation, it is necessary to
continue working in this field. This is because despite the importance of
financial support for certain indicators related with business
internationalisation, it does not exist relationship between this support and
the degree of openness and the investment relations with foreign countries.
Moreover,
besides the absence of a positive relationship with the budget designated to
the internationalisation and the weight that foreign markets has on the economy
of the Basque Country and the foreign direct investment received and issued,
there is not either a positive trend in the level of these two variables in the
last decade. Therefore, it is believed necessary to review the existence or
absence of aids in these areas in order to improve them.
Furthermore,
it's need to be emphasize that even though the increase of the budget
expenditure devoted to internationalisation impulses the exports and the number
of exporting firms, that is not the case with the average exports per firm.
Besides, it is note that the shortfall between the number of exporting firms
and the average exports per firm, which is becoming an interesting new research
area analysing what are the characteristics of the new internationalized
companies who break into the market in order to identify their weaknesses and
to help strengthen the quantity exported by them.
Furthermore,
most of the budget expenditure for internationalisation is intended to
expenditures on transfers and subsidies; therefore, the influence over the
internationalisation parameters of total expenditure and the influence of this
particular concept are almost the same. However, despite being very little the
budget designated to increase the financial assets and the budget allocated to
personnel and operating expenses, is remarkable that there is not a positive
relationship between these concepts and the results of business
internationalisation. Indeed, the relationship is even negative in the case of
the operating expenses (institutional communication, advertising). Hence, it is
necessary to review these expenditures to improve their performance or to
allocate them to other concepts.
Finally,
as González et al. (2012) indicate it would be interesting for future
researches to identify the different characteristics of exporters that have
best weathered the crisis and that have recovered faster, to know what are the
keys that should allow a better performance of the export sector in the future.
Among others, in order to build a consisting network of the Basque enterprises
that internationalise their activities.
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