Country institutional profiles: Evidence from Colombian software exporters

Abstract

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the perceived institutional environment ofColombian internationally operating small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the software industrycomes to determine their performance.Design/methodology/approach–The research applies regression modelling to a sample of 43internationally operating Colombian SMEs in the software development industry, collected via an online survey.Findings–The results indicate that the normative dimension of the institutional environment comes todetermine the export performance of the SMEs. Conversely, the cognitive and regulatory dimensions of theinstitutional forces do not have a significant effect.Research limitations/implications–The cross-sectional nature of the survey tool, the single industryand the single country context place limitations on the generalisability of the results across different industryand country contexts.Practical implications–The results highlight the need for entrepreneurship-friendly norms and values inthe context of internationalising SMEs in Latin America. Governments should focus on the development andpromotion of international entrepreneurs that inspire and serve as role models for other entrepreneurs ratherthan concentrate on the creation of regulatory frameworks and the provision of knowledge of how to start andmanage risk for the internationalising SME.Originality/value–The study is one of the first to apply the Busenitzet al.(2000) scale on the institutionalcountry profile to real entrepreneurs. Previous studies have mainly applied the framework to a sample ofstudents or officers assigned to US embassies. Besides Renkoet al.’s (2009) conference paper, ours is the first onethat links the country institutional profile to the performance of internationalising software firms and, especially,in the context of a Latin American country. The study, therefore, attempts to contribute to a better understandingof how a country’s institutional environment impacts the performance of internationalising SMEs