The Export Promotion Program go-international in International Comparison

Tasks

In order to provide new impulses for the design of the Austrian export promotion programme go-international, this study compares go-international with other international export promotion programmes and identifies possible adjustment potentials taking into account these results.

Methods

In addition to an analysis of current scientific work on the effects of export promotion programmes, the design of various export promotion programmes is presented on the basis of Germany, Switzerland as well as other European and non-European countries and compared with go-international with regard to their design, financing and marketing activities. In addition, the utilisation behaviour of Austrian companies with regard to the go-international programmes is examined for the past two funding periods VI and VII.

Data and other sources

Database of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) on companies that took part in export promotion programmes of go-international from April 2019 to April 2022.

Results

Economic studies on the effects of export promotion programmes show that the bundling of different support measures can generate synergy effects. In addition, several studies conclude that export promotion programmes should be adapted to the respective export phase and the different needs of companies.

The comparison of go-international with the publicly financed foreign trade promotion programmes in Germany and Switzerland shows that, despite similar economic and institutional preconditions, there are relevant differences in the organisation, structure and implementation of the corresponding promotion programmes. In this respect, a stronger bundling and modularisation of go-international activities as well as greater public transparency in the differentiation between the state-financed export promotion offer of go-international and the original WKÖ programmes could be goals for a further development of go-international.

In order to facilitate the comparison of go-international with the export promotion programmes of other European countries, fact sheets on the respective programmes of Sweden, Estonia, Spain and Finland were prepared as part of the study. In these countries, the relevant public export promotion institutions are also responsible for other promotion measures such as innovation, foreign direct investment or sustainability in addition to export promotion. This coordination creates efficiency potentials in the support of enterprises, which could also be more strongly exploited within the framework of go-international. In addition, non-European examples from Chile, South Korea, Costa Rica and India provide concrete suggestions on how export promotion for female-owned enterprises, e-commerce, sustainability and service exports can be further developed within the framework of go-international.

The analysis of the utilisation behaviour of companies with regard to the go-international programmes showed that the number of companies that made use of the go-international offer during the funding periods VI and VII is highest in the urban centres around Vienna, Graz, Linz and Salzburg. Political decision-makers should pay particular attention to the districts with low utilisation rates. Here, for example, special advertising measures or information campaigns are necessary to reach the relevant companies.