Exporters in Services: New Evidence from Italian Firms

This paper provides new evidence on the determinants of the export performance of firms in services based on a cross-section of Italian firms in the NACE Sections G, I and K for the year 2003. The empirical analysis of the determinants of the export status and intensity shows that the success of service firms in foreign markets is specifically related to their experience in the national market, their belonging to national and international networks and to their relationship with large industrial firms. A higher level of productivity and a higher skill intensity only seem to matter when exporting to more distant industrial countries.