Mistrust and inertia are only two of the obstacles small U.S. businesses face when trying to increase foreign trade, a new study shows.
William Burpitt and Dennis A. Rondinelli found that N.C. businesses involved in environmental technology and services are interested in starting or boosting foreign operations, but had numerous reservations. Moreover, many were unaware of government help programs or considered them ineffective.
The report, funded by the Kenan Institute, shows a business community afraid that foreign companies won't pay for goods or services and not knowing how to find out about a foreign company's record of paying bills and honoring commitments.
Burpitt is visiting assistant professor of management at the Kenan-Flagler Business School and research associate at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. Rondinelli is Glaxo distinguished international professor of management at the school and director of the institute's Center for Global Business Research.
They focused on environmental companies because the global market is mushrooming. North Carolina alone has almost 600 such businesses, 84 of whom were surveyed for the report.
"The survey revealed the reluctance of managers of small firms to do what is necessary to overcome the cultural, legal and regulatory barriers to entering foreign markets, including the complexities of exporting from the United States," the researchers wrote. "Many thought that government programs designed to help American companies deal with these problems would not be useful, without actually attempting to make use of them."
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