The impact of CEO and human capital characteristics on SME export performance

Download
2007
Mert, Ayşe
The objective of this study is to investigate the determinants of the export behavior of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey. In SMEs, key decision makers play important roles; therefore, studying the impact of managerial characteristics is of paramount importance for understanding the determinants of SME export behavior. Particularly, possible relations between CEO age, tenure, level of education, international experience and foreign language skills and the export performance of SMEs will be examined. While doing this, two distinct theories, namely, upper echelons perspective and resource-based view of the firm (RBV) will be integrated. Furthermore, the study will focus on the role of the human capital as a strategic resource that may enhance the SME export performance. The relations between international experience and foreign language skills of the human capital and SME export performance will be analyzed from upper echelons perspective and RBV point of view. Overall, this study attempts to illustrate that CEOs and human resources are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable resources for SMEs, and that studying their attributes in SME internationalization context is crucial to understanding the determinants of expert activities of SMEs. As a result, this study expects to reveal important implications for those who aim at increasing the export performance of SMEs. Practitioners may benefit from the findings by addressing which managerial and human capital characteristics influence SME export behavior and in which directions, so that they can better match the characteristics of CEOs and human capital with SMEs in order to attain higher export performance.

Suggestions

The export performance of the Turkish manufacturing industries with respect to selected countries
Tatarer, Özge; Erlat, Güzin; Department of Economics (2004)
The objective of this paper is to analyze the export performance of Turkish manufacturing industries in the East-Asian countries between the years 1992-2002. SITC (Rev.3), three digit data were used in calculations and three methodologies were applied in order to discover promising sectors of the Turkish exports. Constant Market Share Analysis was used to explain the causes of the change in the market shares of the exports of Turkey from one period to another. Revealed comparative advantage indices were cal...
The effects of european union funding on Turkish civil society
Arkan, Seda; Tür Küçükkaya, Özlem; Department of International Relations (2007)
The thesis explores the impact of European Union funding on Turkish non-governmental organizations in the post-Helsinki period. The European Union financial aids in the post-Helsinki period is analysed with a specific emphasis on civil society and how Turkish civil society is affected from these financial aids. The search for impact analysis is done through case studies of three different civil society organisations at several levels. The organisations studied are, Women Entrepreneur’s Support Foundation of...
The role of the organization for security and co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the transdniestr conflict and the Russian factor
Karaaslan, Hakan; Tanrısever, Oktay Fırat; Department of International Relations (2006)
This thesis aims to explore the Transdniestr conflict in Moldova by examining the involvements of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Russian Federation in their attempts at finding a working solution to this conflict. The thesis focuses on the reasons for the emergence of the Transdniestr conflict, the initiatives for the settlement of this conflict, and the causes, as of today, why the conflicting parties and the mediators have not been successful in reaching a working ...
The role of secularization within the Turkish nation-state building process
Sarı, Özgür; Okyayuz, Mehmet; Department of Political Science and Public Administration (2004)
The objective of this study is to analyze the role of secularization within the Turkish nation-state building process between the late 19th and the early 20th century; hereby an emphasis will also be on the relations between the state and religion. This study will consider the Religious Affairs Directory as the key institutional actor in this process. This institutional reflection of secularization will be studied as an interesting case of state controlled social change on and over religion in society. The ...
Adaptation of Turkey to the European Union research and innovation policies during the accession period
Atmaca, Serkan; Ege, Aylin; Department of Science and Technology Policy Studies (2006)
The aim of this thesis is to analyze the adaptation of Turkey to EU research and innovation policies in the light of developments in within their own dynamics, and within the framework of obligations of the accession period. A comparative analysis of Turkish and EU policies is made by pointing out the weaknesses of Turkey, which are supported by related indicators specifying the gap between EU in research and innovation capabilities. In accordance with the findings of the comparison of Turkey and EU, this s...
Citation Formats
A. Mert, “The impact of CEO and human capital characteristics on SME export performance,” M.B.A. - Master of Business Administration, Middle East Technical University, 2007.