중소기업 수출지원제도의 인지도와 활용도가 수출성과에 미치는 영향

Abstract

There are various export support programs(ESPs) in Korea to promote the export of small and medium enterprises(SMEs) by the central government, such as SMBA and MKE, the local governments, and the export promotion agencies such as Small Business Corporation(SBC), KOTRA, KITA, etc. However, since such programs are not widely known, most of the Korean SMEs cannot enjoy the benefit of them. Also, some of those programs do not consider the needs or the characteristics of the export development stages(EDS) of Korean SMEs. Thus, some programs are redundantly introduced by several organizations, causing an inefficient use of government funds. Therefore, we analyzed the present level of perception and utilization of ESP, and the relationship among the perception level, the utilization level and the export performance of the SMEs. Specifically, based on the assumption that SMEs in different EDS will require different types of ESPs, we will empirically test whether there are differences in the perception or the utilization of the ESP in the EDS of SMEs. An empirical study was conducted in order to verify the hypotheses,with 117 samples obtained through online and offline surveys of SMEs based in Daejeon. In this study, several statistical techniques, such as descriptive analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, reliability testing, ANOVA testing, and path analysis, are used to analyze the causal relations among the level of perception and utilization of the ESP and the performance of them. The main results of this study are as follows. First, the research revealed that the higher the level of perception, the higher the level of utilization of the ESP. This means that the level of perception should be increased in order to raise the level of utilization of the ESP. Also, the research result shows that the utilization of the ESP has a positive effect on both economic and strategic performance. Since it is prerequisite to raise the level of perception and utilization of the ESP In order to improve SMEs' export performance, it is required to intensify publicity activities and to develop more business-fiendly programs for SMEs such as ‘Reach Out Program'. Second, the utilization of ESP has a higher effect on strategic performance than on economic performance. Also, it is revealed that economic performance is influenced by the indirect effect rather than the direct effect. More precisely, the utilization of EDS influences positively strategic performance such as SMEs' brand image, competitive power, etc. After that, the increased strategic performance make the economic performance higher. Therefore, it is required to focus not on improving the economic performance in a short term, but on modifying and reforming the current ESP to increase the strategic performance which will make eventually the economic performance in the long term. Third, there are differences between the level of perception and utilization according to the EDS. Thus, a customized plan for increasing the level of perception and utilization for each EDS is required. Finally, based on export development stages, there are differences in the relationship between the level of utilization and the performance of the ESP. This means that an ESP, customized to each firm's EDS, is required in order for the ESP to be a more effective and efficient program. The research revealed that the education/ promotion support program and the export-promising SME support program are effective for the first EDS the foreign market penetration program and the education/promotion support program are for the second EDS and the foreign market penetration program is expected to be effective in the last EDS. In conclusion, if we summarize implications of the existing literature and the result of this study, we can suggest several policy alternatives from 3 perspectives, 1) EDS perspective, 2) ESP problem perspective, 3) policy beneficiary and policy maker perspective to solve various problems of current ESP.