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20世纪50年代以来，不同世界经济日益增长的自由化和巨大的一体化是企业从坚持事出商品到世界各地口世界各地的驱动力。 在过去的二十年里,贸易出口已经成为发展最快的一个经济活动，它已经超越了经济产出的增长率(货币基金组织,1995)。 自从90年代以来，出口占世界国内生产总值(gdp)的约20%(世界银行,1995)。从那时起, 在世界经济相互作用下出口起到了至关重要的作用，随着市场变得更加一体化，其规模预计将进一步增长。 对不同的经济体来说，出口发展非常关键。它已经成为宏观经济和微观经济的水平的巨大影响因素。从宏观经济的角度来看,出口可以使国家经济增加外汇储备,创建向后和向前的联系和提供就业机会，这将改善社会的生活水平。 Liberalization and immense integration of different world economies Introduction The growing liberalization and immense integration of different world economies since the 1950s were the driving force behind persistence of firms to engage in exporting all over the globe. Over the past two decades, exporting has been one of the fastest growing economic activities that have surpassed growth rates of economic output (IMF, 1995). Ever since the 90s exports accounted for approximately 20% of world gross domestic product (World Bank ,1995). Ever since, exporting played a crucial role in world economic interaction and its magnitude was expected to grow further as markets become more integrated. Export development is very critical to different economies. It has been the core of policymakers due to its substantial effect on the macroeconomic and microeconomic level. From a macroeconomic point of view, exporting can enable national economies to increase their foreign exchange reserves, create backward and forward linkages, and provide employment which would result in improved standards of living to all of the society. From a microeconomic perspective, exporting gives firms a competitive lead, while improving their financial position, their resource utilization levels as well as raising technological standards.( Katsikeas,1996) Over the last few decades there has been a remarkable change in the standpoint of development policy. This shift led to the extensive interest of researchers to examine the relationship between trade and growth. Up till the mid-1970s development policy was confined to the import-substitution model that urged countries to focus on building their domestic manufacturing capacity and substitute domestically produced goods for imports. However, economic troubles emerged in the 1970s, leading different countries to suffer from slower growth and accelerating inflation. The import-substitution model had been claimed to exhausted itself, and countries that used to prosper following it where no longer in an advantaged position. An alternative approach had to be searched for. Economists thus started to think in favor of market directed economic activity. Ever since there has been a tremendous redirection of policy towards an export-led growth model which recommends the exact opposite. Rather than focusing on production for domestic markets, countries were advised to concentrate and aim for producing for exporting. (Palley, 2003) By the early 1980s export-led strategy and export promotion had already achieved a broad agreement among researchers and policy makers, Most economics considered it to be the conventional wisdom in in the developing world. ( Tyler, 1981; Balassa, 1985 ,Balassa, 1980 ,Heitger, 1987) Over the last decades, numerous researchers have modeled exports as an engine for growth, with the presumption that higher exports can lead to greater capacity utilization, economies to scale, adoption of more efficient technology or higher foreign exchange earnings. Most of the empirical researchers over the last decades have shown a close link between economic growth and export growth ( Chudson 1964, Balassa 1987 Sprout and Weaver 1993, Summers and Peter 2001, Soderborn and Teal 2003). It is widely perceived that no country with closed and inward oriented policies has been able to achieve high growth rates. As Baldwin demonstrated export expansion often plays a key role in initiating development in its two aspects, growth and change. (Baldwin 1966) Exports are good for growth and poverty alleviation but they are not easy to develop. Most of the developing countries consider export promotion and development a precedence for economic development. Sustained export promotion efforts will assist in earning foreign exchange necessary to finance imports. This will consequently lead to reduced balance of payments problems and lower foreign debts. In addition and create further employment for people. East Asian economies are mere example that developing countries can compete effectively in international markets. They present a blueprint for economic growth valid to many developing countries. The focus of East Asia’s exports on manufactured products is the outcome of its meticulous mixture of land scarceness and a somewhat educated and skilled labor force. Export promotion is not only desirable but also absolutely necessary in some countries in order to widen a narrow export base. Foreign exchange earnings from a very limited number of export products often cannot generate additional foreign exchange, especially when there has been a decline in the international prices for some traditional export products for developing countries, the demand for which is relatively price and income inelastic. A vital constituent of all countries foreign trade policies is the national export strategy that focuses on promoting and developing those products and markets that gives the country its competitive edge in exporting. In this context, Trade Point Organizations (TPOs) are founded to develop and implement the country's export promotion and development programs. These have two main roles to play, to offer specialized assistance to the producers of products for export, and act as a catalyst for associated services provided by other public and private units that lead to the facilitation of the exporting process. In many occasions, TPOs have an advisory role to governments on foreign trade and related matters. TPOs might also act as link between the export community and the governments, as these are having close connection with the export community Of course, It is also possible for the export community to create direct contacts with foreign markets and with the government through alternative contacts, however, these other contacts should not put off the TPO from acting for the advantage of exporters. Specialized institutions devoted to this task should carry out export promotion and development activities. In this context, TPOs are key actors that offer support and guidance to enterprises. The role of TPOs depends on the stage of development of a country. In developing countries, where SMEs play a major role, a TPO has to make efforts to expose them to the international market place. SMEs with export potential should be selected and the TPO should work closely and intensively with them in order to turn them finally into successful exporters.(ATPF, 2000) However, success in penetrating foreign markets mainly depends on the competitiveness of the export products of a country. Therefore the main task of a TPO should be enhancing the competitiveness of the export sector. The role of TPOs in achieving this objective has been more challenging in the context of the present global economic environment. The globalization process, the WTO as well as regional groupings have not only created opportunities but have also posed challenges to TPOs. For that reason, they have to play a dynamic role in the present context to make exporters more competitive in the international market. (ATPF, 2000) The digital economy has formed a new world for the trade promotion organizations. In many aspects, the TPO is no different than its clients in respect to being forced to respond to changes of the business rules and scheme. These must respond with rapidity and efficiency as well as flexibility. The digital economy is, moreover, forcing the national trade promotion organization to recreate, itself. All trade promotion organizations must explore potentials of the international market place and support their customers to exploit the internet as a communication and business device. Furthermore, they should alter the content of their help through offering guidance on e-trade, e-markets and Internet marketing while expanding their own e-awareness, e-competency and e-promotion programs. The needs of their clients in this aspect should be catered for and continuous feedback sought for development and improvement. (ITC, 2000) In addition, the means of communication between TPOs and their clients should be achieved through e-mail and the Internet, as well as to establish online networks to raise and expand response aptitude. Providing tailor-made guidance and information to enterprises is a key feature to distinguish TPOs from services offered through other Internet sources. In particular, the objective of TPOs trade information services is termed by International Trade Center (ITC), as “To assist the country’s businesses to explore business opportunities effectively by the provision of targeted market information which results in high levels of customer satisfaction” (ITC, 2001)#p#分页标题#e# TPOs in the new digital era must become fully e-competent and proactive as well as responsive institution. The internal culture and behavior of staff must be altered to keep in line with the new developments. Not only this, but a systematic upgrading of the used technology through installing business systems to detain, store and easily regain information on different customers, markets as well as integrate these into the organization's website would be an advantage. 1.2 Background of study: Export promotion has been identified as a priority policy for the Egyptian government; accordingly its focus is on developing the necessary set of policies and measures to improve enterprise competitiveness which will eventually lead to expansion of exports. Egypt has a projected growing export potential in different sectors because of the competitive advantage it has in many manufacturing industries and its unique and strategic geographical location. The services sector has also a promising export prospective including commercial services, especially tourism, transportation, business services. Thus it the government’s main target is focused on the future of its exports on boosting the competitive advantages of different sectors. The “Egyptian Exports Development Strategy” document gives clear insight into the government’s plan to achieve its objective of augmenting and supporting the Egyptian exports during the next decade. Obstacles hindering exports from prospering were clearly and objectively addressed and practical measures to alleviate such hurdles have been set off. In this context different new laws have been issued. The law no.55 for the year 2002 was set to encourage competition of Egyptian exports while removing barriers to trade. This law dealt with issues of funding the development of research, marketing and training centers as well as assisting in the communication between the Egyptian exporters and their corresponding firms in international markets. It preserves cost efficiency for exporters to guarantee fair competitiveness in global markets. In the year 2005, different laws were issued by the Prime Minister to unify different customs system like Tax Rebate, Temporary Release and Drawback System. This was with the aim to facilitate for exporters their retrieval of formerly paid customs on raw materials used in manufacturing products for Exports. Small and medium sized enterprises represent the utmost share of the productive part of the Egyptian economy. Yet, this sector, despite the efforts of different governmental bodies to enhance its competitiveness, is still suffering from major obstacles and limitations to achieve the targeted level of exports that would boost the economic growth in Egypt. Amidst the fierce global competition and challenges created by globalization, it becomes vital if not a priority to focus should on enhancing the export competitiveness and capabilities of the SME sector This is why the current national policy directions address ways and means of developing capacities of SMEs. The digital economy has created new means and channels of overcoming barriers of trade faced by SMEs due to their size and limited resources. The international Trade regime is changing very rapidly in wake of the development of Information and communication Technology (ICT). The Globalization and integration of International Economy got a fillip with the advent of Internet. Internet gives a new concept of wired and inter-linked world and now physical distances are no more a major barrier. Today world has shrunk into a cyber village connected digitally, accessible just by a click of mouse. (JETRO, 2000) New tools of doing Business have emerged and the entire terminology of International business is being re-phrased. The e-business (web-enabled businesses), e-commerce, e-marketing, out-sourcing and 'e-industrial clustering' and host of similar vocabulary is emerging. It has been established to a great extent that e-commerce will be the kingpin of the future business-to-business relationships. It has opened new vistas and avenues for growth and development around the world. With much less capital expenditure compared to industrial infrastructure development, information technology around the world, for developed as well as developing countries, offers new opportunities to avail The international Trade arena needs to be re-designed and re-engineered in wake of digital economic environment suggesting a basic re-structuring in the methodologies of Trade Promotion Institutions. The traditional trade promotion services are no longer sufficient to operate in this Economic framework. The e-commerce and strategies are to be evolved not only by the Business organizations but also by the Trade Promotion Institutions too. The e-businesses processes have to be streamlined and standardized under the Multilateral-trading regime of World Trade Organization's Agreement on E-commerce and Information technology. The legislative and regulatory frameworks are the prerequisites to give predictability and the confidence in the international business processes. Electronic commerce not only offers opportunities for increasing trade efficiencies by expanding the market size, but also creates a whole cyber market with 24 hours, 7 days a week online trading and thus eliminates communication distortions and delays. It also reduces the costs of documentation, better inventory control management and supply chain management. In addition, E-commerce holds the key to unlock the protectionism and Non Trade Barriers mechanism adopted by the host of the major international trading countries and regional trade arrangements by virtually connecting the marketplace. The growth of e-commerce would also usher in the stability and peace in the world devoid of traditional boundaries and barriers whether political, cultural or economic. The developing countries are finding it difficult to switch over to the requirements and realities of digitalized global economy. The technological barrier notwithstanding, the cultural practices are major hurdles to induce the Business-people to integrate themselves in the digitized economy. The global trade point network , developed by the UNCTAD in 1992, is a way of assisting access for SMEs to international markets, while benefiting from innovative technologies in electronic commerce. SMEs can get access to the latest information and telecommunication technologies and services, promote their products to potential customers and find business partners in other countries, through this connected network. This service is offered at a reasonable cost with SMEs from developing countries can benefit from it.(UNCTAD, 2000) 1.3 Importance of topic Developing countries still do not capture the driving forces for trade development and export promotion in today’s global economy. E-commerce is considered to be a catalyst for exports. Projections confirm that e-commerce flows will grow at an increasing rate over the next few years. This holds an opportunity for the economic development of developing countries, providing them with new means for venturing global markets. Egypt is no exception in this context; it needs to learn how to ride the e-commerce wave, instead of being crushed underneath it. It needs to capture a piece of the cake, to capitalize on this new emerging opportunity to boost its exports worldwide, which is the main concern of the Egyptian government. The Egyptian government is very much dedicated to export promotion. It was stated on different occasions that,” Exporting is a matter of life or death for the Egyptian economy”. (ECES, 2001) And over the last decade the Egyptian business environment has witnessed continuous reform efforts to remove barriers against exports through such measures as trade liberalization, the adoption of duty drawback/ tax rebate and the simplification of customs procedures. However, Egypt is still lagging behind when analyzing its export records. E-commerce moreover, as a medium for foreign trade, offers potentials for augmenting Egyptian exports and improving its balance of trade. This in turn will positively influence the Egyptian economy as it will help towards curtailing national debt and inflation rates and increasing the GNP. Moreover, Egypt will be able to experience a more open economy and enhance its comparative advantage globally. (Hashem, Ismail, 1998) The advent of the Internet and e-commerce has contributed to reducing costs, as well as reducing time and space requirements to perform transactions. E-commerce would offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to undertake and establish a small, medium or even micro- sized enterprise with international market access. E-commerce is considered to be a catalyst for exports. Projections confirm that e-commerce flows will grow at an increasing rate over the next few years. This holds an opportunity for the economic development of developing countries, providing them with new means for for venturing global markets. Egypt is no exception in this context; it needs to learn how to ride the e-commerce wave, instead of being crushed underneath it. It needs to capture a piece of the cake, to capitalize on this new emerging opportunity to boost its exports worldwide, which is the main concern of the Egyptian government. The Egyptian government is very much dedicated to export promotion. It was stated on different occasions that,” Exporting is a matter of life or death for the Egyptian economy”. (ECES, 2001)#p#分页标题#e# And over the last decade the Egyptian business environment has witnessed continuous reform efforts to remove barriers against exports through such measures as trade liberalization, the adoption of duty drawback/ tax rebate and the simplification of customs procedures. However, Egypt is still lagging behind when analyzing its export records. E-commerce moreover, as a medium for foreign trade, offers potentials for augmenting Egyptian exports and improving its balance of trade. This in turn will positively influence the Egyptian economy as it will help towards curtailing national debt and inflation rates and increasing the GNP. Moreover, Egypt will be able to experience a more open economy and enhance its comparative advantage globally. (Hashem, Ismail, 1998) The advent of the Internet and e-commerce has contributed to reducing costs, as well as reducing time and space requirements to perform transactions. E-commerce would offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to undertake and establish a small, medium or even micro- sized enterprise with international market access. Electronic trade points all over the world are being launched to foster greater participation in international trade through the reduction of transaction costs, the simplification and coordination of trade procedures internationally, and providing traders with the access to advanced technologies and information networks.. The trade points bring collectively all suppliers of services required to make business transactions. With the expanding number of interconnected Trade Points, The Global Trade Point Network is rising as one of the main global networks for trade-related information streams. It will become more and more difficult for any key trading partner to reside out of engaging with it. (UNCTAD, 2001) 1.4. Research objectives The constraints facing the Egyptian SMES that hinder them from having a global reach to their products for exporting them are significant; one of these barriers is their inability to access global markets. With the aid of the international trade points, SMEs should be able to overcome such an obstacle and have an international presence at a low cost. Despite the burgeoning literature on the SMEs, their role in the economy, the problems and barriers they face, the studies concerning the ways of providing means of facilitating their participation in the global economy are still rare. With the advent of technology and the emergence of the knowledge economy it becomes detrimental not to have a global reach. It is thus important to assess the usefulness of ITP to act as a gate for the disadvantaged SMEs to the international economy, thus allowing them to participate in the world international market while reaping all the advantages and opportunities of the emerging new technologies of the digital economy. The study aims to assess the perceived usefulness of International trade points in Egypt in enhancing the export competitiveness and performance of SMEs by means of a questionnaire based survey. The survey will assess SMEs own perceptions of the different services provided by the international trade points, to be able to determine to which degree are trade points in Egypt successful against the given international standards The aim of this research is to: 1. Review the theoretical literature explaining the major obstacles faced by SMEs while trying to access global markets as well as the opportunities and the challenges offered by the digital economy 2.Assess the usefulness of International trade points in Egypt in providing the main services to SMEs to help them participate in world trade as well as to quantify the export contribution of SMEs through this network 3. Assess the extent to which SMEs perceive ITPs to be unique and different than other traditional TPOs in the context of the provision of a electronic and wired trading opportunities. 3. Identify and analyze the factors behind the variance in perceptual usefulness of ITPs based on the SMEs point of view to be able to develop an appropriate model of the most effective performance 1.5. Research Questions 1. How important are TPOs in the process of export promotion of developing countries? What are the main differences between public and private TPOs? 2. What is the difference between International trade points and traditional TPOs? 3. What are the main constraints faced by Egyptian SMEs to enhance their export competitiveness? To what extent is the government policy attributing to enhancing SMEs exports? Is a governmental public or private sector based export promotion system better suited to enhance export competence of SMEs? 4. How do SMEs perceive Egyptian ITPs to be useful and effective in enhancing exports of SMEs in Egypt? Are there any firm related factors that affect the ability of SMEs to benefit from services of Egyptian ITPs? 1.6 Research Methodology To accomplish the objectives of this study, a mixed method research design merging both qualitative and quantitative research methods has been applied. As Creswell (1995) has recently illustrated, mixed method approaches now provide rationale ahead of triangulation. “The relationship between qualitative and quantitative research should not be considered in terms of mutually exclusive dichotomy but rather as a continuum of complementary paradigms within systematic inquiry, that when used in concept, produce complete or useful knowledge”.(Howard and Borland,2001) Greene et al. (1989) have listed 5 purposes of the mixed methods study: “Triangulation, or seeking convergence of results; complementarities, or examining overlapping and different facets of a phenomenon; initiation, or discovering paradoxes, contradictions and fresh perspectives; development or using the methods sequentially, such that results from the first method inform the use of the second method; and expansion, or mixed methods adding breadth and scope to the project.” Furthermore, there is so much value in mixing qualitative research with quantitative. Quantitative research stands out at summarizing large sets of data to be able to make generalizations supported by statistical projection. However, the main strength of qualitative research lies in decisive presentation of the story from the participants standpoint, providing the rich descriptive aspect that positions quantitative results into their human framework (Stringfield and Teddlie, 1990) Sequential mixed method design will be adopted (QUAL → QUANT sequence) will be adopted. This study will consist of to separate phases: a qualitative phase using semi structured interviews followed by a quantitative phase using survey. (Creswell, 2003) The field of this study is still new in Egypt, as a limited number of studies have been conducted focusing on the performance and efficiency of trade points as they have been operating only since 1994 in Egypt, and the ICT awareness in SMEs is still limited in Egypt. Furthermore, there are no validated dimensions that can be used to evaluate the ITPs performance from the SMEs point of view. Therefore, this study will start with a thorough literature review providing insight on the role of export promotion in boosting economic growth and development in developing countries. The role of international trade points will be explored in details trying to refer to some successful country experiences of other developing countries. The role of SMEs and their contribution to the Egyptian economy will also be reviewed and their barriers to entering foreign markets will be analyzed to determine the points of weaknesses they suffer from that could be overcome through the services of ITPs. The role of e-commerce in the new era of the digital economy as an export promotion tool will be reviewed to assess its implications on opening up new means of conducting business and engaging in trade for SMEs. Also the status of e-readiness and ICT awareness of SMEs will be reviewed to see how much an obstacle it represents for maximizing benefits of ITPs. Following the literature review, primary qualitative research will be conducted using semi-structured interviews with the head of the main office and selected managers of sub trade points in Egypt to explore all their export promotional tools and services to the Egyptian SMEs, the trend of export transactions conducted through them ever since they started operation and the number of SMEs using their services Subsequent to this, another set of in-depth interviews with a sample of SME managers, that are registered with ITPs., will be conducted. The main objective of this phase was to explore the perception of SMEs of trade promotion services in Egypt and those of International trade points in particular, their attitude towards the importance of trade promotion organizations and to what extent do they consider International trade points to be different and unique in the services they provide. It was attempted to explore how SMEs find such form of trade intermediation useful in their process of venturing foreign markets and boosting their export competitiveness. In addition their firm characteristics (size, sector, e-readiness, location, stage of export involvement…) are explored, to be able to associate those to their ability to utilize the services of the ITPs, as it is useful to consider several firm external and internal environmental variables before embarking on the discussion of the export assistance experience.#p#分页标题#e# This will give an indication whether the number of SMEs engaging in the use of their activities is growing or not, the volume of exports through them is again growing or not. An important issue is to assess the importance and need for 14 trade points in Egypt, this is considered to be a huge number compared to other developed and developing countries, is it really essential to have them all. Qualitative research has become a widely accepted genuine form of enquiry in the social sciences. “Researchers of all methodological persuasions recognize its value in obtaining detailed contextualized information”. (Greene and Caracelli, 1997) The second phase of the research will be a survey of Egyptian SMEs that have used the services of the International trade points, to assess the usefulness of the latter in enhancing export competitiveness and providing export opportunities of SMEs while overcoming the main obstacles facing them. The dimensions among which usefulness will be assessed will be developed based on the literature review and the outcome of the qualitative phase, leading to the development of a comprehensive questionnaire covering all aspects of services offered by ITPs to be assessed by SMEs on a given likert scale. A part will be added to determine firm characteristics using a different scale. This part will be added to determine which firm characteristics explain some of the variance in their degree of benefiting from the services of ITPs (reflected in the usefulness of ITPs). A pilot study will be conducted first to test the questionnaire before the actual data collection to measure the validity of the questions and the reliability of scales used. Simple random sample will be used to create respondents with diverse firm characteristics. This survey methodology will be applied, as this is the most convenient way to collect and obtain information in Egypt. Officially available data is limited due to the poor reporting practices of Egyptian firms. Furthermore, telephone interviews, postal surveys and e-mailing questionnaires have not been widely used in Egypt. The survey method is an accepted strategy in collecting data in social sciences; it allows collection of a large amount of data in a cost effective means. The data can thus be standardized, allowing simple comparison. In addition, the survey method is perceived as reliable by people in general, because it is easily understood. () Questionnaires seem to be a good method of data collection in Egypt, given that they do not include culturally sensitive questions. (Parnell and Hatem 1994) Questionnaires are one of the most widely used survey data collection methods as each respondent is asked to answer the same set of questions, which affords a competent way to gather responses from quite a large sample. (Sekaran,2000) The second chapter will present an overview of export promotion, basic terminology and concepts, its importance and contribution to economic growth and development. A thorough review of the emergence of export-led growth strategy and its policy implications will follow. Finally the History of the development of Trade promotion organizations as well as their importance and their role in enhancement of export competitiveness of developing countries will be discussed. Arguments for and against their establishment and support success will be highlighted. Other than this it will focus on SMEs, their definition and role in world economy. Opportunities and challenges offered for SMEs due to globalization and trade liberalization will be discussed, as well as main barriers and constraints faced by these in pace of their process of accessing global markets. Chapter three will be dedicated to Egypt. First of all a brief history of the Egyptian economy will be given. The export development strategy as well as its policy implications will be reviewed and analyzed. The Egyptian trade performance over the last 2 decades will be highlighted with reference to measures affecting Egyptian export performance.Another theme to be discussed is the performance of Egyptian SMEs, their structure and contribution to the economy. www.ukassignment.org/azdxassignment.The major obstacles and constraints to SME export competitiveness will be analyzed with reference to the export performance of SMEs during the last period. Parameters of the policy framework set by government to enhance competitiveness of Egyptian SMEs will be reflected upon. In Chapter four we describe the survey methodology, thus describing the different phases, qualitative and quantitative, in details. The questionnaire design, contents as well as the sampling frame are discussed in details. In addition, questions scaling and coding will be explained. Study hypotheses are developed and presented as well. Chapter five will deal with the emergence of the new concept of the digital economy in contrast to the traditional one. New terms such as e-commerce and trade as well as e-readiness of countries will be introduced. Another theme reviewed in this chapter thoroughly is the new and reinvented role of the TPO as mirrored in the introduction and development of the Global trade point network in 1993 by the UNCTAD as an electronic trade network to assist SMEs to have a global reach.. The structure, development and all services offered by this network on the international and local level will be identified. Another aim is to give a detailed picture of Egyptian ITPs, their development, their performance over the last 10 years, the different services they provide for SMEs during the exporting process. In other words the services provided to register SMEs before, during and after the exporting process. A brief comparison between EITPs and traditional public and private export promotion institutions will be highlighted. Chapter six, Results of interviews with government officials at trade point level and those with Managers of SMEs are discussed in details, reflecting on the main points and issues raised while quoting them in different occasions. Following the presentation of the findings of the qualitative phase, the analysis of the survey results are reflected upon. The results of the different statistical means used are presented and highlighted while drawing upon the main research questions raised earlier. Finally, chapter seven summarizes all chapters, concludes the findings and identifies policy recommendations to improve the export competitiveness of SMEs while benefiting from the different services of EITPs. |
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