Firm growth, age and the intensity of international trade: evidence from Ecuadorian manufacturing firms
Segundo Camino-Mogro, Alberto LópezPurpose
This paper examines whether firm age moderates the relationship between international trade intensity and firm performance, and whether this relationship differs across the firm-growth distribution.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a comprehensive administrative panel of active formal manufacturing firms in Ecuador (2007–2018), we estimate the association between trade intensity and firm growth outcomes and test moderation by firm age. We complement mean-based estimates with quantile regressions to capture heterogeneous effects across low- and high-growth firms.
Findings
The results indicate that the association between international trade intensity and firm growth differs by firm age and across the conditional growth distribution. The Young × trade-intensity differential is generally weak or negative in the lower quantiles and becomes positive in the upper quantiles, with the strongest differences concentrated among high-growth firms. These patterns are consistent with heterogeneity in learning, adjustment costs, and capability accumulation.
Research limitations/implications
The findings pertain to the population of formal manufacturing firms in Ecuador and may not directly generalize to other sectors or informal firms. Future research could test whether similar lifecycle-based heterogeneity holds in other emerging-market contexts.
Practical implications
Policies and managerial strategies that facilitate early-stage firms' access to export and import channels – alongside capability-building support – may enhance growth outcomes, especially for high-potential young firms.
Originality/value
The study contributes by documenting firm-age-based and growth-heterogeneity boundary conditions in the trade–performance relationship using an unusually comprehensive emerging-market manufacturing panel.